Lions HC Dan Campbell told reporters after Sunday’s loss to the Bills that the initial belief is DT Alim McNeill and CB Carlton Davis suffered injuries that “could be season-ending.”
The Lions have been hit really hard by injuries on the defensive side of the ball this year and it looks like more bad news could be coming.
McNeill, 24, was a two-year starter at NC State and a First-Team All-ACC as a junior. The Lions used the No. 72 overall pick in the third round of the 2021 draft on McNeill.
McNeill was in the final year of his four-year, $5,129,186 contract when he agreed to a brand new four-year extension worth $97 million and included $55 million guaranteed.
In 2024, McNeill has appeared in 13 games for the Lions and recorded 24 tackles, 3.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a pass defense.
Davis, 27, was selected with the No. 63 overall pick in the second round out of Auburn by the Buccaneers in 2018. He finished the final year of a four-year, $4,393,114 contract that included a $1,274,992 signing bonus.
From there, Davis appeared to a three-year, $45 million contract with the Buccaneers in 2022.
The Lions traded their 2024 third-round pick to the Buccaneers in exchange for Davis, and two sixth-round picks.
In 2024, Davis has appeared in 12 games for the Lions and recorded 54 tackles, a forced fumble, two recoveries and 11 pass defenses.