It was another great Sunday for Lions fans.

The Vikings woke us up with a loss in Dublin to the Steelers.

The Lions survived the mythical monster known as the trap game vs the Browns.

And at night, the Packers kissed their sisters in a tie with the Cowboys.

The end result is the Lions are back alone atop the NFC North.

Helping lead the way was Aidan Hutchinson who forced 1 fumble, bagged 2 sacks, hit the QB 4 times, and induced 10 million panic attacks when he lay curled up on the field in the 2nd quarter.

Advertisement

Thankfully, this time Hutchinson just had the wind knocked out of him… which ironically allowed Lions fans to regain their normal breathing.

While Hutchinson ended up being a false alarm, there were a couple concerning injuries to the Lions secondary. On Monday, Dan Campbell delivered good news on those players along with updates to two players on the PUP list. His quotes are included below.

Amon-Ra St. Brown – knee contusion (1q 3:20)

St. Brown was slow getting up after blocking for Jahmyr Gibbs’ touchdown. Close inspection of the replay showed him taking a helmet to his left knee which could explain things. He finished the game without an issue.

Advertisement

Aidan Hutchinson – wind (2q 12:07 and 1:03)

Hutchinson’s right torso is going to be sore after taking two wicked blows to that area – the second of which left him writhing on the ground for a bit. He finished the game and should be just fine. There is always a chance of a rib fracture, but so far there are no signs of concern.

DJ Reed – left hamstring strain (4q 13:56)

After a spectacular interception earlier in the game, Reed went down with a hamstring in the 4th. To his credit, he still tried to make the play after going down. A cart was used to help him off the field. While the presence of a cart is not good news, it’s not necessarily bad news as there is no reason to risk aggravation by trying to walk off.

Advertisement

He will certainly miss some time, with the big question being how much. MRI results will help estimate the recovery timeline. A partial tear (grade 1 or 2) could return in the range of 2 to 5 weeks. An unlikely worst-case scenario would be a hamstring tear that requires surgery and ends his season. Last year, that occurred with Dak Prescott (partial avulsion) and the Lions Michael Badgley in training camp.

Dan Campbell on Monday ruled out a worst-case scenario, and implied a timeline around 4-5 weeks:

“He’s going to be down for a while, but the good news is it’s not a season-ender…. Could be [IR], could be in that range.”

Terrion Arnold – right shoulder or pec (3q 4:21)

Arnold’s video showed a similar mechanism to Marcus Davenport’s pec strain. Both Davenport and Arnold were initially listed as a shoulder during the game. Davenport’s injury listing was changed to a chest later in the week. We’ll see if that same sequence happens with Arnold.

Advertisement

Best case scenario would be a simple contusion to the pec or shoulder. There didn’t seem to be anything on video overly concerning for the shoulder, although a brief subluxation is always possible.

Dan Campbell’s statements on Monday ruled out a major injury like a pec rupture, dislocated shoulder, or a fracture.

“I don’t think this is a huge thing…. If it’s not this week, he should be back by next week for sure.”

Tyleik Williams – right knee (4q 13:11)

It’s hard to tell here, but Williams appears to get slightly rolled up on and was grabbing at his right knee area afterwards. He didn’t miss a play and finished the game which is reassuring.

Khalil Dorsey – left back contusion (4q 4:02)

Late in the 4th, Dorsey is slow getting up after taking a knee to the back. He didn’t return to the game, but it was late 4th garbage time. With Reed and Arnold likely out for at least a short while, Dorsey may become very important in the secondary.

Advertisement

Jacob Saylors – hamstring

Saylors was reported by the team to have a hamstring early in the 4th quarter. But he still participated in the final punt return at the 2-minute mark of the 4th quarter suggesting there isn’t a significant injury here.  Good thing as Saylors has provided a nice spark on kickoff returns.

TIDBITS

Al-Quadin Muhammad, who played 46% of snaps the previous week vs the Ravens, was down to 37% of snaps vs the Browns. He was dealing with a knee injury during the week which may be the explanation.

Derrick Barnes, who may have irritated his surgically repaired right knee last game, looked good in playing 91% of snaps.

Daniel Thomas (forearm fracture) went on IR prior to the game. Last season, Alex Anzalone returned in 7 weeks from his forearm fracture. Expect a similar timeline.

Sione Vaki (groin) and Zach Cunningham (hamstring) were hurt in the previous game but did not go on IR, which is good news – especially with Vaki who had just come back from a multi-week hamstring.

Mekhi Wingo, who had played the most snaps of any Lions DT three weeks ago, has curiously been an inactive the past two games. He has not been on the injury report the past two weeks, but an aggravation of his knee is a possibility. He had a knee meniscus injury in November 2024 which required surgery. Then he had another arthroscopic surgery on the same knee in the offseason implying there was still some irritation present at that time.

REINFORCEMENTS COMING

These players started the season on PUP/NFI and have missed the mandated four games. That means they can open their 21-day practice window this week. There is a good chance that all of them start practicing sometime in October.

Alim McNeill, DT (ACL) – Dan Campbell on Monday delivered great news here: “We’re close on Mac, there’s a good chance we may start Mac’s clock this week.” Expect late October to November game action.

Malcolm Rodriguez, LB (ACL) – No updates here, but expect late October to November game action.

Miles Frazier, OG (knee) – Dan Campbell on Monday stated: “He’s progressing, not as fast as we’d hoped…. It’s not as clear as Mahogany was last year.” Last season, Mahogany had his window open on October 8 and saw his first action on November 24. That means November might be best-case scenario for Frazier.

Josh Paschal, EDGE (unspecified cleanup surgery) – Maybe October-November. On September 20, Campbell stated: “He’s improving, that’s the best I can tell you.”

This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Lions postgame injury report after Week 4 plus PUP list updates