NOTEBOOK: How will Lions replace McNeill’s production?

For the next four games at least, one of the Detroit Lions’ defensive starters won’t be available.

Alim McNeill, a third-year defensive lineman, will miss the minimum of the next four games against Chicago, Denver, Minnesota, and Dallas as a result of the team placing him on injured reserve due to a knee injury.

“It will be difficult to be without Mac for the next four weeks,” Lions head coach Dan Campbell stated on Wednesday. He has been a dependable, consistent, and effective player for us. This year, he has truly blossomed. Every year, he only gets bigger, but this year was really large. He was indispensable to us. It hurts because guys respected him a lot. However, this train continues at the same time.”

With five sacks and nine quarterback hits this season, McNeill was enjoying a career year. With 5.5 sacks, Aidan Hutchinson leads the team. In order to improve his speed and agility, McNeill changed his body this offseason, losing weight and body fat. It has paid off, as he has been among the NFL’s finest interior linemen through 14 weeks. He ranks as the seventh-best interior defender in football according to Pro Football Focus.

Tuesday, the Lions added 13-year veteran and former first-round choice Tyson Alualu to their practice squad in an attempt to strengthen the interior of their defensive line. Alualu, 36, was a first-round selection by the Jaguars in 2010 and spent seven seasons with them before spending six with the Steelers. In the previous season, he made two starts and participated in all 17 games.

“This guy brings the house down (up).” About Alualu, Campbell remarked, “He brings stability.” “That gives us comfort because you can sort of predict exactly what you’re going to get. Again, he’s an asset to the roster and has a little bit of versatility. Therefore, as soon as we decide that he’s ready, he’s in the game.

shape,’ or he’s prepared to undertake it, after which we’ll decide. See if he can assist us.

For the majority of the season, Benito Jones and Quinton Bohanna, a defensive lineman on the practice squad, have alternated starting next to McNeill. With McNeill out and Alualu maybe requiring some time to get his football legs under him, third-year defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike, veteran Isaiah Buggs, and youngster Brodric Martin, who has played sparingly this season, could be called upon to play a bigger role.

“That’s all you can ask for—it’s a terrific opportunity for those people,” Campbell remarked.

Asking linebacker Alex Anzalone on Wednesday about the birth of his daughter Carter last week made him smile from ear to ear.

This week, Anzalone has several reasons to be happy. In addition to enjoying the newest member of his family, he is also happy to be back on the practice field  after missing the entire previous week and the Saints game because of a hand injury he sustained in the team’s Thanksgiving loss to the Packers.

Anzalone returned to practice on Wednesday wearing a customized brace to shield a screw he had inserted in his thumb, even though he had surgery the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

It’s been a difficult yet fortunate week,” he remarked on Wednesday. “Being back at practice was good. It kind of motivates and excites you to get back to work every time you have a setback and watch a game on the couch.”

In a victory on Sunday, the Lions’ linebacker corps—Jack Campbell, Derrick Barnes, Malcolm Rodriguez, and Jalen Reeves-Maybin—performed admirably. However, the defense would greatly benefit from having their captain and best tackler return to the field this week against quarterback Justin Fields and the Bears’ offense.

Anzalone stated that managing his pain will be the main focus of his Sunday game, but it was encouraging to see him back at practice on Wednesday.

It seems like there are more starting quarterbacks in the NFL than ever before who have been sidelined for the whole season, placed on injured reserve, or had a recent injury.

Furthermore, the backup play for a few of those clubs with QB injuries has been sporadic at best.

After 14 weeks without an injury, Lions quarterback Jared Goff is in a solid position with veteran Teddy Bridgewater as his backup. However, if something were to happen to Detroit’s starter, the team would still be well-positioned. In the games he has started, he is 33–32 and has completed 66.4 percent of his throws for a total of nearly 15,000 yards, with 47 interceptions and 75 touchdowns.

Mark Brunell, the quarterbacks coach, stated on Wednesday, “I think if you ask coach Campbell this question, he’ll answer, ‘That’s why Teddy is here.'” He is an established victor. If needed, he has demonstrated that he can win five straight games for you coming off the bench; he did so in New Orleans. He’s still a really good quarterback for a very, very old man. Without a doubt.

“Having Teddy is wonderful. On gameday, he’s been fantastic for Jared. He’s been excellent for the space. Teddy would make us all feel very comfortable if he had to enter the quarterback room, since he adds a lot of value there. I will always love him. Jared needs to be honest and Athlete of the Week

Following his four special teams tackles in the victory over New Orleans, Reeves-Maybin was awarded the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. Since Bracy Walker in 2004, he is the first non-kicker, non-punter, and non-return specialist from Detroit to win the trophy.

Reeves-Maybin has 11 special teams tackles this year, which ties him with Miles Killebrew of Pittsburgh for the NFL lead. He participated in 20 defensive snaps on Sunday in addition to recording two additional tackles, a quarterback hit, and a pass defensed.

Teddy would fill in and do quite fine if needed, but he’s healthy and our guy.”