The Lions earned a victory on Thanksgiving, but it came at the expense of another injury on defense. Linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez suffered an ACL tear, Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz reports. 
Rodriguez will be out for the remainder of the season as a result, and his absence represents yet another blow to Detroit’s defense in general and linebacking corps in particular. The 25-year-old had logged a 49% snap share on defense while still handling a notable role on special teams this season. That was set to continue given the ongoing absence of Derrick Barnes along with Alex Anzalone‘s broken forearm, but now the Lions will need to look elsewhere on the depth chart.
A sixth-round pick in 2022, Rodriguez immediately demonstrated his potential by logging 15 starts as a rookie. He racked up 87 tackles that year but was relegated to rotational/special teams duties last season. As the NFC’s top seed has navigated multiple injuries at the second level, though, Rodriguez has stepped back into a notable role. The Oklahoma State product racked up 43 tackles and a pair of sacks prior to going down yesterday. Head coach Dan Campbell expressed concern over the injury, and now the worst-case scenario has played out.
As Detroit (11-1) looks to remain in the top spot in the conference (not to mention the uber-competitive NFC North), depth options will be needed at the LB spot. Anzalone is currently on injured reserve, but he could return at some point before the start of the playoffs. Barnes, meanwhile, has not shut the door to playing again in 2024, but a deep postseason run will likely be needed for that to be possible. The Lions’ front seven will move forward without all three members of that trio for the time being, something exacerbated by the previous injuries suffered along the edge by Aidan Hutchinson and Marcus Davenport (among others).
As the Lions look to continue their success with a number of key defenders out of the picture, Rodriguez’s attention will turn to rehab. One year remains on his rookie contract, but he will be eligible for an extension this offseason. Needless to say, this injury will hurt his value on any long-term Detroit commitment.
Not excited for the post season…..the injuries are becoming too much to overcome. Green Bay is going to be EXTREMELY tough on Thursday.
They are a very tough team but that defense has so many long term injuries. Some of the guys will return but we will see how well they play. The division is so tight they won’t be able to secure division until week 17 or 18. Eagles breathing down their neck for #1.
GB will be tough on Thursday but being 11-1 means that we can weather the storm and still make the playoffs as a top seed and perhaps get a few of our defenders back.
They just grabbed Kwon Alexander off the Broncos practice squad.