UPDATE: ESPN’s Mike Rothstein is confirming what we expected: Kearse’s leg is indeed broken.
The worst thing about preseason football is the injuries. Yes, they’re unpredictable and could happen at any time, but to lose a player that is expected to be a heavy contributor in a game meant to be a tune-up, is hard to swallow.
On the fourth play of the Detroit Lions preseason, wide receiver Jermaine Kearse went down. While blocking downfield on a run by Ty Johnson, Kearse was rolled up on from behind and appeared to break his leg.
If you saw it live, or watched the gruesome video replay, you don’t have to be a doctor to predict that his season is likely over. If you need a doctor’s opinion, former NFL team doctor David Chao took to Twitter to give his analysis of the injury:
After a rough beginning to training camp, Kearse had turned it on recently, making multiple big plays in the last two weeks of practices and was looking like a lock for the fourth wide receiver role.
Now, if his season truly is over, the Lions will be evaluating their depth at wide receiver and potentially looking outside the organization for more experience. A trade for a speedy receiver wouldn’t be surprising.
If the Lions stay in-house, the most likely candidates for the reserve receiver spots are Andy Jones, Brandon Powell (both who started tonight with Kearse), Chris Lacy (who replaced Kearse in tonight’s lineup) and sixth-round rookie Travis Fulgham.
