Contextualizing Lions' woes to the most injury-ravaged roster of the past decade
Justin Rogers | Detroit Football Network | Substack
Allen Park — The Baltimore Ravens' entered the 2021 season with typically lofty expectations, despite premature postseason exits each of the past three years.
But the injury bug had a different vision for the franchise. The roster ravaging began in the offseason and never let up. And despite pushing valiantly forward through the woes, including an early-season five-game winning streak and an 8-3 start, the attrition eventually caught up to the Ravens.
The knockout blow was a severe ankle injury to star quarterback Lamar Jackson, leading to the Ravens losing their final six contests. It remains the franchise’s only absence from the postseason since 2017.
There are a few publications that attempt to contextualize the impact of injuries on NFL teams' seasons. One of the most popular is the defunct Football Outsiders, which has been maintained by many of the minds behind that entity at For the Numbers. Regardless of the platform, the 2021 Ravens are considered by all as the most injury-affected team of the past decade.
And while it’s too early to try to summarize what the 2024 Detroit Lions are going through, those Ravens, who placed 25 players on injured reserve, provide us a baseline understanding regarding the uniqueness of the challenges the Lions are battling through.
Before we dive into how the Lions’ problems stack up, we should first recap what happened to the Ravens in 2021, position by position.
Quarterback: As noted above, Jackson, the league’s MVP in 2019, suffered an ankle injury in the early stages of the team’s Week 14 game against Cleveland. The Ravens would go on to lose that divisional matchup as well as the next four weeks with their starting QB sidelined.
Offensive line: Star left tackle Ronnie Stanley played in the season opener before missing the remainder of the year with an ankle injury. Patrick Mekari, his replacement in the lineup, would also miss four games with an ankle injury, while Week 1 starting left guard Tyre Phillips would sit out nine weeks with two separate injuries. The top interior backup, Ben Cleveland, also had a midseason stint on injured reserve.
Running back: Arguably no position group was hit harder as the team lost its top three backs before the season started. J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards suffered torn ACLs while Justice Hill ruptured his Achilles.
Baltimore is a team that leans on its rushing attack and found itself scrambling ahead of Week 1. The team ultimately signed three accomplished veterans in early September — Devonta Freeman, Latavius Murray and LeVeon Bell — to shoulder the load.
Wide receiver: While there weren’t any season-ending injuries in the room, Reshod Bateman missed the first four weeks with a groin injury, free-agent signing Sammy Watkins sat out three with a thigh issue, and Miles Boykin, a 13-game starter a year earlier, was banged up much of the season and finished with one catch in 2021.
Tight end: If there was a bright spot that year for Baltimore, it was Mark Andrews, who played in every game for only the second time in his career and posted what remains his best production: 107 catches for 1,361 yards and nine touchdowns.
Where the team got dinged was backup Nick Boyle, a key contributor to the run game. He was limited to five games and 95 snaps by a torn hamstring and blown-out knee.
Defensive line: Baltimore’s defensive front was dealt a big blow early when Derek Wolfe couldn’t shake a back injury and missed the entire season. He would never play another down in the NFL.
The rest of the front held up reasonably well, relatively speaking, with Calais Campbell missing two games and defensive tackle Brandon Williams sidelined four by a shoulder issue.
Linebacker: Starter L.J. Fort tore his ACL in August. Like Wolfe, it ended up being a career-ender for the veteran defender.
Secondary: The defensive backfield was another group decimated by injuries, starting with cornerback Marcus Peters being lost for the season with an ACL tear in training camp.
Additionally, part of the Peters’ replacement plan, Chris Westry, missed most of the year with a knee injury. Veteran Jimmy Smith missed multiple games with both ankle and neck injuries, and the starter opposite Peters, Marlon Humphrey, missed the final five games, all losses, with a torn pec.
At safety, starter DeShon Elliott was lost for the year and missed the final 11 games after also tearing his pec.
When it’s laid out, the devastation is clear. The Ravens dealt with injuries to starters at nearly every position group, many of them season-ending. It’s a minor miracle they sustained as long as they did, but similar to the present-day Lions, it’s a well-coached franchise, typically with tremendous depth and high standards. Next man up isn't just a phrase, it carries expectations.
The way injuries have affected the Lions has been far different. In fact, they’ve remained largely remained unscathed on one side of the ball.
The only time Jared Goff hasn’t been on the field is when he’s given way to backup Hendon Hooker in three blowouts. They’ve had a few minor concerns along the offensive line, but nothing requiring an IR stint. The running backs and tight ends have mostly been available, sans Sam LaPorta missing one game with a banged-up shoulder. And in the receiver room, the only loss has been Kalif Raymond, No. 4 on the depth chart, but still a tough blow on special teams as a former All-Pro returner.
No, where Detroit has been absolutely crushed is on defense.
Up front, they’ve suffered through the long-term losses of Aidan Hutchinson, Marcus Davenport, John Cominsky, Kyle Peko and rookie Mekhi Wingo. They're also currently dealing with some more short-term concerns with Josh Paschal, Levi Onwuzurike and DJ Reader. That could facilitate a bigger role for Brodric Martin, the second-year developmental player who was robbed of that development while on the shelf with a knee injury during the first half of this season.
In the next level, the linebackers have been hit equally as hard as the front. Derrick Barnes remains likely out for the year and Malcolm Rodriguez definitely is after tearing his ACL last week. Additionally, Alex Anzalone and Jalen Reeves-Maybin are currently on injured reserve, although there’s hope both can come back near the end of the regular season.
The secondary has been more fortunate, but not without issues. Emmanuel Moseley, the projected starter at the nickel, and No. 3 safety Ifeatu Melifonwu suffered long-term issues in camp. Moseley just got back and has yet to play a defensive snap, while Melifonwu remains out of action.
The starting five to open the year — Carlton Davis III, Terrion Arnold, Amik Robertson, Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch — have been more fortunate, with two not missing any time and the other three sitting out just one game apiece, assuming Davis returns to action this Thursday.
Rookie reserve Ennis Rakestraw did land on IR, but he’d only seen limited playing time through 12 weeks.
Comparatively, what the Lions are going through on defense stacks up against the 2021 Ravens and likely any other roster from the past decade. Not that it surprises anyone, they’re down at least four starters, at least a couple replacement starters, and several key backups entering the stretch run.
What remains surprising is how well they’ve held up after each blow, with the past six opponents averaging 13.8 points. But the relative durability of Detroit’s offense, when contrasting the two rosters, is a reminder of how much worse it could be and why Detroit's Super Bowl aspirations remain in play, even if weakened by their ongoing tribulations.
