The impact of the Lions’ 2024 injuries will extend into this season with multiple players sidelined well into the regular season.
One such case is fifth-year defensive tackle Alim McNeill, who suffered a torn ACL in December and missed the team’s last three regular-season games as well as the playoffs. He is not expected to return to the field until “late October or November,” according to senior team writer Tim Twentyman.
2024 was the second year in a row during which McNeill struggled with injuries. He missed four games in 2023 with a knee sprain, but managed to recover by the postseason. Now, the 2021 third-rounder is set for a third consecutive season with 14 or fewer appearances.
The Lions will not rush McNeill back to the field after making a sizable financial investment in the 25-year-old last fall. However, the team will be hoping that he can live up to that four-year, $97MM extension by finishing the 2025 season fully-healthy. That will allow him to build into 2026, when he has $19.85MM of fully guaranteed salary, per OverTheCap, and ensure he remains in Detroit through 2027, when he has a $3MM injury guarantee that will vest into a full guarantee next March.
In the meantime, the Lions will have to find a way to fill the roughly 70% snap share McNeill occupied when healthy over the last three years. Detroit retained Levi Onwuzurike and added depth in Roy Lopez and Raequan Williams this offseason, but rookie Tyleik Williams, selected with the No. 28 pick in April’s draft, might have been the team’s biggest move to prepare for McNeill’s absence.
Williams was considered to be an early second-round talent, but Lions were not on the clock again until the 60th pick. By then, he likely would have been selected by another team. Knowing that McNeill would be sidelined to start the season, the Lions opted to prioritize Williams in the hopes that he could bolster the defensive line as they await McNeill’s return.
at least he is getting healthy