The Lions' victory over the Cardinals came at a cost. On top of losing Marcus Davenport to a likely season-ending elbow injury, linebacker Derrick Barnes "is going to be down a significant amount of time" with a knee injury, Dan Campbell said Monday.
Barnes suffered the injury in the first quarter of the Lions' 20-13 win and was carted off the field with a towel over his head. It's a big loss for the defense, which was relying on Barnes to play a variety of roles, from edge rusher to run-stuffer to occasional cover man in the slot.
Campbell said the Lions aren't yet sure if Barnes will land on injured reserve, which would knock him out for at least four games. They're waiting to find out if Barnes, who also injured his knee in last season's NFC title game, will need surgery after the injury heals naturally.
“We're still getting second opinions on that," he said. "What we know right now is, he’s going to be down for a little while. And then it’s just a matter, as these opinions keep coming back, how long is that going to be? It's the knee, so is he going to need something done other than one of the ligaments -- or can these ligaments scar in and everything will be good, just needs time?"
With Barnes sidelined on Sunday and Alex Anzalone already in concussion protocol, Jack Campbell played every defensive snap at middle linebacker. Malcolm Rodriguez and Jalen Reeves-Maybin also saw significant action at linebacker, with Ben Niemann mixing in as well.
The Lions should get Anzalone back for their Week 4 game against the Seahawks, with Rodriguez likely to retain a key role in Barnes' absence.
On the brighter side, defensive tackle Alim McNeill, who left Sunday's game with a shoulder injury, and tight end Sam LaPorta, who left with a sprained ankle, shouldn't be down long. Campbell said both players are day to day.
Same for safety Brian Branch, who was taken out of the game and placed in concussion protocol after a collision in the fourth quarter, "but as of today he was doing pretty good, so we’ll see where that goes," Campbell said.