The Detroit Lions spent the middle rounds of this year’s NFL draft adding depth to their defense. Four practices into 2026 training camp, two of those players already are dealing injuries.
Defensive end Derrick Moore, the Lions’ second-round pick, left practice Sunday, Aug. 2, in Allen Park to be evaluated for a groin injury.
Moore’s departure comes two days after the Lions lost fourth-round linebacker Jimmy Rolder – Moore’s college teammate – for an undetermined time to a leg injury.
Rolder did not practice Sunday, though Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard said he still expects Rolder to contribute at some point this fall.
“Oh, absolutely,” Sheppard said before practice. “As far as the mental and all that, he’ll still be engaged in meetings and all that with us, so I absolutely see him contributing at some point.”
Sheppard also praised Moore before practice, saying the pass rusher “has the presence of an older guy” and has shown more athleticism than he expected while working mostly with the second-team defense.
“Just being around him, he doesn’t feel like a rookie,” Sheppard said. “I kind of say that to the staff all the time. He’s very mature. He’s kind of introverted, but once you get to know him, he’s just a man’s man and he just comes to work every day with his head down, ‘Coach, what do you need of me? What are you expecting of me? What is the standard?’ And he goes out and tries to meet that. He’s shown things, absolutely.”
Undrafted rookie tight end Miles Kitselman also left practice Sunday with a leg injury, and rookie first-round pick Blake Miller did not take part in team drills. Miller wore a sleeve on his left leg at practice.
Defensive tackle Alim McNeill, who left Friday’s practice to be evaluated for what the Lions said was a neck injury, said he got kicked in the head by linebacker Derrick Barnes and passed a concussion test after practice.
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lions DE Derrick Moore leaves practice with injury, Alim McNeill returns
Reporting by Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
