Lions Could Be Boosted Most by ‘Promising’ Return of Defensive Linemen

John Cominsky Aidan Hutchinson

Getty John Cominsky and Aidan Hutchinson celebrate with the defense in 2022.

The Detroit Lions have missed lots of players early on this season to injury, but arguably, no player as much as defensive lineman John Cominsky.

While Cominsky isn’t a player who has put up huge stats, his passion and determination has meant a lot to a weakened Detroit defensive line. Without Cominsky, lost to hand surgery a few weeks back, the team has been pushed around.

Help could be on the way soon, though, and the Lions could benefit from Cominsky’s return. Speaking to the media on Monday, October 17, Dan Campbell admitted that it’s looking good for Cominsky and Josh Paschal this week.

“Cominsky, you know, it looks pretty promising for him. (Josh) Paschal had another good week last week, we only had a couple practices but he’s put two weeks back-to-back that has been pretty good so we’ll see where he’s at. Jerry (Jacobs) continues to get better. I’d say all those guys are trending in the right way,” Campbell said.

Getting Cominsky back could be good fortune for the Lions given what he’s already meant to the team’s defensive front in the short time he’s been on the roster. Paschal suiting up would help the team’s depth as well.

The trenches have been beaten up and beaten down, but finally, the winds could be shifting in a big way for Detroit.


Cominsky’s Return Looks Most Important

The Detroit defense has been a disaster for the most part, but interestingly enough, one of their underrated signings has been a huge difference-maker for the franchise.

Statistically, Cominsky hasn’t enjoyed the biggest start to his career in Detroit with just three tackles and one sack, but energy-wise, he has showed his strength to the roster and the defense whenever he has played. Constantly, he has collapsed the pocket. Without him out from injury, Detroit’s pass rush has completely vanished.

It’s been clear Lions aren’t simply looking for stats when it comes to their defense. A player like Cominsky who does the right thing and is responsible while brining the energy will always be something that wins out for the staff.

If he plays well in a return in the weeks ahead, he could pace a turnaround for the team’s defense on his own.


Lions Will Benefit From Paschal Return

The importance of Cominsky nearly goes without saying, but a Paschal return could be sneaky significant for the trenches as well.

The Lions haven’t had their second-round pick from the 2022 offseason due to recovery from an offseason hernia surgery, but he is poised to come back and offer the team something they need in terms of run defense and the ability to press the pocket.

Paschal collected 137 tackles, 13 sacks and 35.5 tackles for-loss in his Kentucky career, which points to his activity up front. With only seven sacks, that’s activity that has been missing from the Detroit defensive front thus far this season.

In terms of energy, Paschal and Cominsky would be wins for Detroit. The team has lacked fire and passion up front most of all, and both players should provide that in spades whenever they do return.

If it’s Week 7, that would be a boon for Detroit’s beaten down defense that is getting pushed around far too much up front.

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