It was easy to fear the worst when D.J. Reed was carted off the field and up the tunnel in the Lions' 34-10 victory over the Browns on Sunday. Monday brought much better news.
While the Lions' top cornerback will be "down for a while," Dan Campbell said, "the good news is, this is not a season-ender. We will get him back, it looks like. That's the good news. He's a stud."
It sounds like Reed will be out about a month. Campbell said the Lions haven't yet made a decision on whether to play him on injured reserve, which would sideline him for at least four games: "It’ll be close, I think. Could be in that range."
Reed injured his hamstring running with Jerry Jeudy in coverage early in the fourth quarter. He went down in a heap while trying to make a play on the receiver as the ball came his way, which spoke volumes to Campbell. Reed never gave up.
"That just shows everything you need to know. That, to him, is more important than his own body, is making a play for his teammates. He doesn’t want to let the guys down and he needs to make a play, and something comes of that," Campbell said.
Fellow corner Terrion Arnold also left Sunday's win with a shoulder injury, but the Lions expect to get him as soon as this week's game against the Bengals.
"I don’t think this is a huge thing, but the question is, is he going to be ready for this week?" said Campbell. "That would be really the question. And if it’s not this week, he should be back by next week for sure."
Amik Robertson will fill in for Reed. If the Lions need another corner to step in for Arnold on Sunday in Cincinnati, Campbell said both Rock Ya-Sin and Khalil Dorsey will be "ready to go. They’re going to step up, we’re not going to miss a beat. That’s the whole point."
"We’ve always preached, man, next man up and getting the next guys ready to go, getting them reps in practice, which we’ve been doing from camp to even now in the season, going on four weeks now. Our next guys up get real reps. They get our scheme, our work, running our plays, so they’re expected to step in and we don’t lose a beat. They know that. That’s the expectation here, and that’s the standard."
Campbell said the Lions could also look outside the organization for help at corner, but he still needs to discuss it with Brad Holmes.
They do have defensive back Erick Hallett on the practice squad, a player who "gives us versatility," said Campbell. "He can kind of do a little bit of everything, nickel, corner, safety, but we’ll see."