Despite injuries to their defense, the Detroit Lions (13-2) are on track to receive a first-round bye in 2024. Head coach Dan Campbell’s team is missing Aidan Hutchinson, Alex Anzalone, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Carlton Davis, Alim McNeil, Malcolm Rodriguez, Derrick Barnes, Marcus Davenport, and John Cominsky.
The fourth-year Lions coach is poised to get back a pair of key defenders: the returns of linebackers Alex Anzalone and Jalen Reeves-Maybin seem around the corner. Campbell indicated that Anzalone is “close” to returning but is unsure if he’ll feature in the team’s next game on Monday against the San Francisco 49ers.
Anzalone, a 2017 third-round pick by the New Orleans Saints and Lions defensive captain, broke his forearm in Detroit’s 52-6 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in November. “Thank you everyone for the well wishes!” he tweeted after the news. “As an athlete, a lot of times you think “Why did this have to happen?” But I like to think about all the countless reps something bad didn’t happen. I’m beyond blessed! I’ll be back in no time, fresh legs and all.”
He was originally assigned a six to eight-week comeback window, indicating that Anzalone is on track with his recovery.
Reeves-Maybin is a reserve linebacker and important special teamer for Campbell’s defense. “We started him last week, he got a practice or two,” the Detroit coach stated of his injured player. “We’re going to get him more this week, see how he feels where it’s at,” Campbell told me. “He is somebody that could potentially be brought up.”
Hutchinson, arguably the Lions’ best player, looked like a candidate for Defensive Player of the Year when he recorded 7.5 sacks through the first five games of the season.
He suffered a broken tibia and fibula against the Dallas Cowboys in October and looked destined to miss the season. However, Hutchinson teased on ‘The Squeeze’ podcast last week that he may be able to return.
“I’m on track for my goal of returning for the Super Bowl,” he revealed. “I keep telling all the boys when I see them in the facility, I’m like, ‘You guys just got to get there. I promise you, I’m going to be back.'”
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