Preseason injuries are maddening.
Heading into the third game of the preseason, the Lions had already suffered injuries to some key contributors — Da’Shawn Hand, Tom Savage, Tyrell Crosby, Teez Tabor, and Austin Bryant — but last nights game saw two starters suffered apparent significant injuries.
Let’s take a closer look at these new injuries and the roster fallout that is likely to follow.
Jarrad Davis injury and fallout
On the second play of last nights game, Davis was in pursuit of Bills running back LeSean McCoy and was inadvertently fallen on by Devon Kennard.
The range of possible injuries for Davis is too vast to speculate, but Davis required the cart to leave the field and in the locker room the other linebackers were talking about “next man up” which is not a great sign.
With Davis out, Jahlani Tavai and Jalen Reeves-Maybin stepped up and both played well in his absence.
When the Lions kept only one of the pair on the field, it was Tavai at the MIKE calling plays and making adjustments. But when both were on the field at the same time, Tavai would slide over to the WILL and Reeves-Maybin would take over at the MIKE, relying on his experience to call the defense.
Tavai showed well against the run and coming off the edge, while Reeves-Maybin continues to show why he is the Lions best cover linebacker, intercepting Bills quarterback Josh Allen — Yes, it was called back on a weak penalty but I’m still crediting Reeves-Maybin in my notebook for doing his job properly.
Last season Christian Jones started at WILL, but the Lions have shifted him around this season and appear to prefer him coming off the edge from either a JACK or SAM position. He’s another option to play off-the-ball if the Lions need one.
With Tavai, Reeves-Maybin and Jones all likely seeing their roles increase, this opens up an opportunity for Miles Killebrew to lock in a reserve linebacker role.
Regardless of how long Davis is out, losing him is a big blow to the defense. You can’t replace his work ethic, skillset or experience — typically he plays on 100-percent of snaps and makes the defensive calls — with one person but the Lions have the depth to overcome his absence. I’m expecting the Lions to promote from within, rather than pursue a free agent.
Frank Ragnow’s injury and fallout
Halfway through the second quarter, on a simple sweep left, Ragnow was exiting the wash with the play moving away from him and his right leg was rolled up on.
While early reports from Dave Birkett of the Free Press indicate “some general optimism about the Ragnow injury”, we won’t know more until after his MRI later today.
When Ragnow left the game, Graham Glasgow slid over to center — a position he played the last two seasons — and Kenny Wiggins stepped in at right guard. With Joe Dahl already at left guard, this may be the trio that starts on the interior offensive line at the beginning of the season.
The fallout from this injury has the potential to be much more significant than the one on defense, as the Lions offensive line depth is questionable.
Now instead of getting to choose the best player between Dahl and Wiggins for the final guard spot, the Lions could now be forced to rely on both in the starting lineup. For what it’s worth, both played very well at guard in last nights game against an underrated Bills front.
Things get more complicated among the reserves.
With Crosby already out, Wiggins was taking reps on the second team at offensive tackle. If he is promoted to the starting lineup, this means the Lions top reserve tackle is Andrew Donnal. Unless Ragnow and/or Crosby are ready to return in the next seven days, Donnal should be considered a lock for the roster — something that was questionable 24 hours ago.
On the interior, the Lions looked like they were strongly considering keeping developmental undrafted free agent guard Beau Benzschawel, but now with these injuries, the team would likely elect to stick with a veteran offensive lineman, thus opening the door to Oday Aboushi and Luke Bowanko.
If Ragnow and Crosby are out for an extended amount of time and neither land on injured reserve, it could mean Benzschawel doesn’t make the 53-man roster and they expose him to waivers by trying to sneak him on the practice squad.
It’s tough for an undrafted rookie free agent to think his career could be derailed by an injury to a player above him on the depth chart, but with the rosters being what they are and the NFL only allowing 46 players to dress on game day, it’s difficult to develop young offensive linemen in the league’s current roster structure.
Adding an offensive tackle and/or guard via trade or in free agency also shouldn’t be ruled out. The Lions have some depth pieces on defense they could dangle to needy teams but don’t expect the Lions to somehow land a player capable of starting anytime soon.
Lions fans should be holding their breath until they receive news on Ragnow’s MRI.
