The Lions Injury Plague: Key Pieces Out Indefinitely and for the Season
Frustrating is the best word to describe the Lions 2024 season. Injuries have plagued the Lions this season and it only seems to keep getting worse. There are 16 players on the Lions defense that are on injury reserve. Among these players is Defensive Tackle Alim McNeill. On the offensive side, the Lions just lost half their run game in David Montgomery. As the postseason approaches, the Lions are not as good a team as they were at the start of their season. This is not because they are playing badly, it is because they can not stop losing their core weapons to injury.
David Montgomery
David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs are arguably the best running back duo Detroit has ever seen. They have 1822 rushing yards between the two of them and 23 touchdowns. The reason that the duo worked so well is because these two runners balanced each other out. David Montgomery is known as Knuckles and embodies the power and strength of the running game. Jahmyr Gibbs is known as Sonic and embodies the speed and finesse of the running game. Together they were unstoppable. However, now that Montgomery is injured, the run game will look different. On Sunday, Montgomery suffered an MCL injury against the Bills in a game where the running game was silenced. David Montgomery had just signed a two-year extension in October for 18.25 million dollars. Montgomery will now undergo testing. However, it is reasonable to believe that David Montgomery will be out for the season. Jahmyr Gibbs will likely have a much heavier workload and will have to power through defenses himself.
Alim McNeill
Alim McNeill signed a four-year, 96-million-dollar extension in October of this year. Unlike David Montgomery, Alim McNeill is definitely out for the season. Alim McNeill tore his ACL against the Bills on Sunday. This is terrible for Detroit’s defense who now have 16 players on injury reserve, including Aidan Hutchinson, who was leading the league in sacks before he got injured. Before McNeill got injured, he had 3.5 sacks and 17 solo tackles, becoming a central part of the Lions defense. Once again this season, the Lions will need to fill a hole in their defense.
Plague
The Lions are suffering from a plague. That plague is called injury. It is not normal for a team's defense to have 16 players on injury reserve by the end of the season. Now the Lions have lost one of their best offensive players as well in David Montgomery. The good news is that the Lions have a culture and they have an identity. With the culture of toughness that the Lions have, I don’t doubt that the next man up will be able to fill the injured shoes just like they have been doing all year.
