Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell said D.J. Reed's hamstring injury appears more serious than the shoulder that knocked Terrion Arnold out of the game.
The Detroit Lions could be without both of their starting cornerbacks for next week's game against the Cincinnati Bengals and the leading receiver in the NFL last year, Ja'Marr Chase.
Terrion Arnold injured his shoulder making a tackle on a running play in the third quarter of the Lions' 34-10 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, Sept. 28, and D.J. Reed went down one defensive series later, at the start of the fourth quarter, clutching his hamstring while trying to cover Jerry Jeudy on a deep pass.
Arnold went for examination under the blue medical tent on the Lions' sideline before heading to the locker room, while Reed was carted off the field after briefly being tended to by trainers.
"We all saw Reed’s," Lions coach Dan Campbell said. "I don’t know what that’s going to be or how long. I mean certainly I cannot imagine him playing next week, at a minimum, till we get more tests done. And I don’t think T.A. is a major thing. Now, I don’t know. There again, I don’t know about him next week, but it’s certainly not as significant as what Reed had."
Reed, the Lions' top free-agent addition of the offseason, had his first interception Sunday as part of the Lions' two-takeaway day. He was coming off a shutdown performance against Baltimore Ravens No. 1 receiver Zay Flowers and had been the Lions' most dependable cornerback in the season's first three games.
Arnold got off to a rocky start this season and was splitting time against the Browns at outside cornerback with Amik Robertson before his injury. Arnold was flagged twice for defensive holding Sunday.
The Lions previously lost cornerback Ennis Rakestraw to a season-ending shoulder injury this preseason, and Robertson and Khalil Dorsey finished the game at corner. Rock Ya-Sin also can play the position, and No. 3 safety Avonte Maddox has extensive experience at slot cornerback.
The Bengals are 2-1 entering their Monday night game against the Denver Broncos. They lost quarterback Joe Burrow to toe surgery earlier this year but still have a dangerous wide receiver pairing of Chase and Tee Higgins.
"Next-man mentality," Robertson said. "The way this team brought up, we got guys that can step up. This organization do a great job of finding guys that can play, cause they understand injuries. It happened last year, so we got some great guys that can step up so just continue working, playing together as one in the back end."
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions lose starting corners Reed, Arnold to injury
Category: Football
