The Detroit Lions are bracing to spend at least next week — and possibly longer — without starting cornerback D.J. Reed after he was carted off the field with a significant hamstring injury in Week 4’s win over the Cleveland Browns.
Reed suffered his injury after breaking up a pass intended for Browns wide receiver Jerry Jeudy in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 34-10 win, staying down on the field after the play as trainers attended to him and eventually taking the cart into the locker room.
He did not return for the remaining 13:56 in the game.
Afterward, Lions head coach Dan Campbell indicated that Reed would likely not play in Week 5’s road game against the Cincinnati Bengals next week and suggested he could potentially miss even more time, depending on what further tests say about his injury.
“We all saw Reed’s [injury],” Campbell said Sunday afternoon. “I don’t know what that’s going to be or how long [he will miss]. Certainly, I cannot imagine him playing next week, at a minimum, until we get more tests done.”
Lions CB Terrion Arnold Also Exited With Injury
While Reed’s injury caught the most attention in the win over the Browns, the Lions also saw former first-round cornerback Terrion Arnold exit the game with an injury.
Arnold sustained a shoulder injury while trying to tackle Browns rookie running back Quinshon Judkins in the fourth quarter, forcing him to leave for the rest of the game. Fortunately, Campbell’s update on Arnold was more optimistic than Reed’s outlook.
“I don’t think TA’s [injury] is a major thing,” Campbell said. “Now, I don’t know about him next week, but it’s certainly not as significant as what Reed had.”
The Lions could take the upcoming week to evaluate Arnold’s shoulder injury before making a decision about his playing status against the Bengals in Week 5. Things could get ugly, in terms of depth, if the Lions find themselves without him and Reed, though.
Injury Could Disrupt D.J. Reed’s Strong Start for Lions
Reed had played well in his first four games for the Lions after signing a three-year, $48 million contract with the team in free agency. He had also tallied his first interception of the season before exiting against the Browns, picking off veteran quarterback Joe Flacco and taking it to the Browns’ 5-yard line to set up the Lions’ second touchdown.
If Reed’s hamstring forces him to miss significant time, though, it could have major implications on both his season trajectory and the state of the Lions’ passing defense.
The Lions are not deep at the cornerback position and struggled to field a competent group at the position in 2024, hence their decision to pay out big bucks to Reed during the first wave of NFL free agency. Without making a move to add more depth, they may enter Week 5 with Khalil Dorsey and Rock Ya-Sin as their top healthy cornerbacks.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Lions Give Bleak Update After CB D.J. Reed Carted Off With Injury appeared first on Heavy Sports.