The injuries for the Detroit Lions started early in 2021 and never relented. As a result, no NFL had more games missed by starters due to injury than the Lions, according to a tally by the Buffalo News.
It’s not a welcome statistic to lead the league in, but the data is not a surprise to Lions fans who saw the team ravaged by several critical injuries in the 3-13-1 season. The New England Patriots had the fewest games lost to injury with just 23. Detroit beat that lucky mark by more than 100,
At the bottom of the injury list was Detroit, which lost 134 games by starters. Second worst was Baltimore (125), followed by the New York Giants (115), the New York Jets (113) and the Washington Football Team (111).
While not listed in the article, some of the prominent Lions starters who missed significant time:
- CB Jeff Okudah – 16
- WR Tyrell Williams – 16
- C Frank Ragnow – 13
- EDGE Romeo Okwara – 13
- LT Taylor Decker – 8
- TE T.J. Hockenson – 5
A disclaimer from the News indicates the counts do not include starters who were injured prior to the preseason. Also, COVID-19 absences resulted in just 12 percent of the missed games.
