The Detroit Lions rookie draft class has suffered a few injuries to start training camp. First-round pick Blake Miller was dinged up, second-round pick Derrek Moore just left practice, and fourth-round rookie Jimmy Rolder left with a potentially serious hamstring injury.
Before pads went on for the first time, head coach Dan Campbell addressed the media regarding the injury status of the three players. Campbell noted that Miller’s injury was not serious at all. The first-round pick was held out as a precaution rather than due to a serious injury.
Campbell noted that Moore will miss 7-10 days with a groin injury. However, the team will unfortunately be without Jimmy Rolder for a while due to his serious injury. Campbell also noted rookie UDFA Miles Kitselman is expected to be out for a while as well. Kitselman will be a candidate for the IR.
Detroit Lions Get Injury Updates on Three Rookies
GettyBlake Miller of the Detroit Lions
The Miller news is encouraging and not surprising. Miller has been working with the first-team for the majority of training camp, and it looked more like a chance to get Larry Borom some work than anything.
Borom is expected to compete with Miller, but right now it looks like Miller has his eyes set on starting in Week 1.
The injury to Moore is more notable because the rookie will miss a week or so. He has been excelling in training camp, but a week is hard to catch up from when you are this early into things. Payton Turner has also been banged up, which has bought Moore time higher on the depth chart.
Without Moore and Turner, DJ Wonnum will get all of the first-team work. It is going to be interesting who the team turns to after that, and whether they push Tyler Lacy or Ahmed Hassanein out of their current roles to have them play more on the edge.
Lions Rookie Linebacker Jimmy Rolder Is Expected to Miss Serious Time
The Moore update is disappointing, but the biggest issue for the Lions right now is Rolder. The fourth-round pick was not expected to be a major contributor early, but there was a roster spot for him.
He was getting second-team MIKE work behind Jack Campbell and was progressing early into his career. Now, he is likely to miss the rest of training camp. That should end any chance he has of seeing the field barring an injury late in the season. He does not have enough experience to be trusted and will not get that time in the preseason.
Without Rolder, the team signed veteran linebacker Devin White. They already signed veteran Troy Reeder as well, so the team is much deeper at the position, even without Rolder.
Trevor Nowaske, Joe Bachie and Damone Clark are the other notable names to round out the linebacker room. The question about Rolder now is whether the injury is so serious that he goes on the IR, or if they think he can get back on the field soon.
Lions Get Mixed Injury Update on Top Rookie Picks