WEDNESDAY, 11:57am: Levy will undergo surgery on his hip, but the Lions have yet to make a decision on whether or not he’ll be placed on IR, tweets Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com. The team has already used its IR-DTR slot this year on cornerback Alex Carter, so it’s not an option for Levy.
MONDAY, 3:46pm: Lions coach Jim Caldwell acknowledged that the team could shut down linebacker DeAndre Levy with an eye toward 2016, as Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press writes.
“Yeah, I think, obviously, the doctors will make that final determination on that,” Caldwell said. “They’ll look at him closely. They’ll make some evaluation and see where he is.”
Levy left the second quarter of Sunday’s blowout loss to the Cardinals after aggravating the hip injury that sidelined him for nearly seven weeks. He said after the game that he didn’t think this injury was as bad as the strained muscle he suffered in August, but he is meeting with doctors on Monday to find out exactly how bad it is.
The Lions signed Levy to a four-year, $33MM contract extension in August that, at the time, made him the highest-paid 4-3 outside linebacker in the league. As their leading tackler last year, it wasn’t a surprise to see Detroit give such a mammoth deal to the 28-year-old. Levy has developed into one of the Lions’ most important players on either side of the ball since joining the franchise in 2009 as a third-round draft pick. In 2014, he established a new career high in tackles, racking up 155 stops to go along with 2.5 sacks, five passes defended, and an interception.
According to Pro Football Focus, only one 4-3 outside linebacker played more snaps last season than Levy’s 1,072, and only two players at the position received better grades from PFF than the standout Lion. Levy performance was particularly strong against the run, earning him a +21.1 grade in that category.