The Detroit Lions will have some big names returning from injury ahead of this season.
Unfortunately, that’s not going to be the case with all of them.
One of the players who won’t be able to contribute for a while is linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez.
He sustained a season-ending torn ACL injury in the Lions’ Thanksgiving win, so his availability for the start of the season was always up in the air.
Now, as reported by Adam Schefter of ESPN, head coach Dan Campbell just confirmed that he will be out until at least November.
Lions HC Dan Campbell said LB Malcolm Rodriguez is not expected to return from his knee injury until November.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 5, 2025
This isn’t much of a surprise, given that this injury usually takes up to a year to heal.
The Lions will have quite a busy schedule in November.
They will square off with the Minnesota Vikings before visiting the Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles.
Then, they return home to play the New York Giants before a Thanksgiving date with the Green Bay Packers.
Rodriguez recorded 43 combined tackles, two tackles for loss, and two sacks in 10 games last season, and he took over the starting duties when Derrick Barnes suffered a season-ending knee injury early in the season.
The Lions will also start the season without DT Alim McNeill, who also sustained a torn ACL injury late in the campaign.
At least, they got superstar DE Aidan Hutchinson back from his gruesome injury, and even though Aaron Glenn won’t be calling the shots anymore, this defense should still be a force to be reckoned with in 2025.
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