Detroit Lions DT Alim McNeill on his role upon returning from injury
Detroit Lions DT Alim McNeill said he’s just focused on his own job after the Lions’ win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday, Oct. 20, 2025.
When the Detroit Lions return from their bye next week, they could have a familiar face back on the field.
Lions coach Dan Campbell said he expects linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez to begin practicing shortly after the bye, and Rodriguez said he’s ready to start playing football again after “a long rehab” from a torn ACL.
“No frustration, just excited to get back out there,” Rodriguez told the Free Press last week. “It’s one of those things, it’s very new for me to be in this position. Never been hurt before so kind of just learning as I go. It’s one of those things I take all the information and express what I’m feeling and kind of getting their information and feedback from there.”
Rodriguez tore the ACL in his right knee last Thanksgiving in a win over the Chicago Bears, and underwent a second surgery to clean-up scar tissue this offseason.
He said the second surgery helped “tremendously,” and he has progressed steadily in his rehab the past few months to the point where “now I’m starting to feel kind of back to normal about what my knee was.”
“Getting that flexion and that range of motion back (wasn’t easy), but obviously there was a reason for that frustration cause I had a little scar tissue in there and that was kind of being stubborn,” Rodriguez said. “It was one of those things I kind of worked through it and then we kind of sat down and talked like, ‘Hey, we’re going to do the second surgery,’ and kind of clean it out for me. It’s helped a lot.”
The Lions have one of the best linebacking units in the NFL, with starters Jack Campbell (64 tackles, three sacks), Alex Anzalone (four pass breakups, 1½ sacks) and Derrick Barnes (43 tackles, three sacks) playing disruptive defense.
Rodriguez should slot into a backup and special teams role once he’s activated from the physically unable to perform list, likely before Thanksgiving, alongside Grant Stuard, Trevor Nowaske and Zach Cunningham.
Lions linebackers coach Shaun Dion Hamilton, who tore his ACL and broke his kneecap in college, said he has made a point to show highlights of Rodriguez during position meetings to remind everyone the type of player the Lions are getting in his return.
“I think obviously the biggest important thing is that he feels comfortable and before you just throw him out there in the fire, make sure his legs are up under him,” Hamilton said. “(I’ve) made a point of emphasis, even in my meeting and things, to show clips even to build his own confidence in his self to know that, ‘Oh, I am that player, I still am that guy.’ I think I said that cause I know I’ve been through that process. It’s been an up and down road I’m sure throughout the recovery process.”
Rodriguez, who will be a free agent after this season, said he has been cleared for everything but football contact for about a month and a half, and has been waiting “to plug in at the perfect time to come back.”
“I’m ready for it,” he said. “It’s one of those things where I want to get thrown into the fire and see what it does. I don’t want to just ease into it, I kind of want to go full force.”
The Lions, after the bye, host the Minnesota Vikings in Week 9.
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.