ALLEN PARK — Lions defensive end Marcus Davenport is done for the season after an elbow injury in the win at Arizona on Sunday.
Linebacker Derrick Barnes, who took a cut block to his right knee early in the game, will be out for a significant amount of time but there is no exact timeframe because testing is not complete. It’s unknown at this point if he will require surgery.
Not great news to lose two defensive starters, but coach Dan Campbell said on Monday the roster is built to handle this.
“It’s not our first rodeo, we’ve been through this. We got hit like this immediately in ‘21. I pretty much said coming out of that year, we would never have another year where we felt like this got on us,’’ Campbell said. “That’s why you have a 69-man roster because everyone of those guys is going to have to help you at one point of another.’’
The team knows it’s next man up.
“We don’t bat an eye. We acknowledge there are some good players that can be down but this is your opportunity now, next man step up and help us,’’ Campbell said. “There’s no looking back, nobody cares, nobody feels sorry for us, we just move forward.’’
Barnes has been playing lights-out during the first three games.
“It’s going to hurt to lose Barnes, Barnes is playing at a high level. But if it’s going to happen in any room the linebacker room gives you faith, all of those guys can play. We have a ton of faith in those guys,’’ Campbell said.
On Sunday they were already missing linebacker Alex Anzalone, who was sidelined with a concussion, and then lost Barnes early in the game.
Linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez started with Jack Campbell who was making the calls. Jalen Reeves-Maybin saw action as did Ben Niemann. Campbell said Niemann didn’t take any of those reps in practice but he stepped in and didn’t miss a beat.
Defensive end Josh Paschal, who played 18 defensive snaps on Sunday, will help fill the gap left by Davenport’s absence.
“Paschal, this is going to be big for him, he’s going to take a load over there now and he played an outstanding game. I thought he played really well yesterday,’’Campbell said. “He’s physical, continues to grow. We’re going to need him to step up and we have all the faith in the world he will.’’
Campbell had better news with the others who were injured Sunday. Defensive lineman Alim McNeill and tight end Sam LaPorta (ankle) are day to day. Brian Branch is in concussion protocol.
The Lions have an extra day of rest because they don’t play until Monday night. Then their bye week comes the first weekend of October which willt give them extra time to heal.
UP NEXT: Seattle Seahawks (3-0) at Detroit Lions (2-1) at 8:15 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 30, at Ford Field.
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