The Detroit Lions celebrated a 34-10 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday afternoon, but the Week 4 victory wasn't without loss. The Lions sustained multiple key injuries at Ford Field this weekend, including cornerback D.J. Reed, who was carted off the field after injuring his hamstring on a deep passing route in the fourth quarter and didn't return.
With fellow CB Terrion Arnold also leaving the game with a shoulder injury, it goes without saying that Lions fans patiently waited for positive news after the final whistle. Unfortunately, head coach Dan Campbell's initial update isn't exactly encouraging, as he told reporters (h/t @AtoZ_Payton) that "he can't see Reed playing next Sunday."
Lions CB D.J. Reed Expected to Miss Week 5 vs. Bengals
More testing will be done in the coming days to understand the extent of Reed's injury, but the fact that he's already unlikely to face the Cincinnati Bengals next weekend isn't good. Nor is the fact that Campbell added that "Arnold's injury seemed less serious than Reed's," seemingly indicating that the latter's could be a week-to-week situation rather than a day-to-day one.
Regardless of how much time he misses, Reed's injury is an unfortunate bump on the road to beginning his Lions stint. The 28-year-old pass disruptor signed a three-year, $48 million contract with Detroit in March after stints with the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, and New York Jets, and the hope was that he would fill the void created by Carlton Davis III's offseason departure.
The start of Reed's campaign was a mixed bag until his injury. Although the former Kansas State Wildcat currently sits at solid run defense (82.4) and tackling (72.5) grades on Pro Football Focus, his mark of 64.3 in coverage has left much to be desired. Conversely, he's finished with a 70.4 coverage grade or better in the last two weeks, hinting that better results are on the horizon once he's healthy.
The Lions are expected to compete for the Lombardi Trophy this season, meaning they need a fully healed Reed back on the gridiron sooner rather than later. Arnold, Rock-Ya Sin, Khalil Dorsey, and Amik Robertson have all had their struggles in coverage, too, and the last thing Detroit needs is to be without its CB1 for the long run.
Hopefully, Reed dodged the worst-case scenario and rejoins the Lions' secondary sooner rather than later.