Detroit Lions fans are all too familiar with how the injury bug can derail a season. They witnessed it first hand last season when the team ran out of bodies towards the end of the year with 13 defenders finishing the year on injured reserve. One of those players whose absence hurt the Lions in a big way was star defensive lineman Alim McNeill.
After tearing his ACL in Week 15, McNeill had a long recovery period, but had his first practice with the team on Wednesday. Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard was impressed with McNeill's first session, saying, "I saw all I needed to see. I see him helping in a major way", per The Athletic's Colton Pouncy.
Lions Need More Help Despite Alim McNeil's Anticipated Return
Now, the Lions have 21 days to evaluate McNeill's progress. He will have a chance to practice with the team during this stretch without counting against the team's 53-man roster. The Lions can remove him from the PUP list and activate him at any time during this three-week window. While he will likely need some time before getting back to action, this is excellent news for a team that has been hit with a series of injuries on the defensive end in recent weeks.
Detroit is really going through it in the secondary. DJ Reed landed on the injured reserve with a hamstring injury, Terrion Arnold left Week 4 game early, and Kerby Joseph didn't practice on Wednesday with a knee injury. Khalil Dorsey, who would be expected to have a bigger role amid these injuries, is in concussion protocol, with his status for Sunday uncertain.
Getting reinforcements is obviously helpful, and getting a game-changer like McNeill in the mix will obviously help the Lions' defense. Yet, they will be facing an uphill battle in coverage with their current situation in the defensive backfield. Amik Robertson, Rock Ya-Sin, and Avonte Maddox are all expected to take on more snaps, but none of the three has looked particularly impressive in his minutes so far this year.
Yet, one could argue that the team has punched above its weight on the defensive end through four weeks. While the dominant win against a poor Browns offense skews the numbers in such a limited sample size, the Lions rank in the top half of the league in both points and yards allowed. After ranking 20th in the NFL in yards allowed last year, the Lions are all the way up to 12th through four weeks under Kelvin Sheppard.
A struggling Bengals team in Week 5 will give Detroit an excellent opportunity to build more momentum and keep its hot defensive streak going. How much they will miss their injured defenders will be a big determining factor on Sunday.