Lions Hit With Devastating Injury News After Vikings Win as Linebacker Room Takes Major Blow

The Detroit Lions officially moved to 5–2 on the season while maintaining a perfect 4–0 record at home. Detroit managed to hand the Minnesota Vikings their first loss of the season, but the victory came at the cost of two significant injuries to the Lions’ linebacker room.

The biggest concern is Jack Campbell, who went down with a scary neck injury and remains hospitalized. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only linebacker to suffer a significant injury. Rookie linebacker Jimmy Rolder also suffered a hamstring injury that not only ruled him out for the remainder of Sunday’s matchup but will officially end his season.

Rolder was putting together a productive performance against Minnesota, recording five tackles, two tackles for loss and one sack before seeing his rookie season cut short.

On top of these injuries, Detroit also lost linebacker Devin White a few weeks ago to a broken forearm. White is expected to return at some point this season but will remain sidelined for the next several weeks.

With Detroit suddenly thin at linebacker, the team has already begun making moves to address the position. The Lions signed former Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker K.J. Britt off the New England Patriots’ practice squad and added him to their own practice squad. Although Detroit hasn’t officially promoted him to the active roster, I believe he will make his way onto the roster by Sunday.

Britt is still just 27 years old and only two years removed from making 11 starts with Tampa Bay in 2024. He spent four seasons in Tampa Bay, where he played under Lions defensive line coach and run game coordinator Kacy Rodgers. He was also college teammates with Lions defensive back Roger McCreary at Auburn from 2018–2020.

Britt has earned a reputation as a vocal presence and natural leader. Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles previously described him as very vocal, a natural leader and probably the most talkative player on the field. Buccaneers, Antoine Winfield Jr. also noted how Britt would regularly get into trash-talking exchanges with quarterback Baker Mayfield.

During Dan Campbell’s press conference with the media Monday, he also alluded to Detroit potentially calling up linebacker Joe Bachie from the practice squad.

Currently, the only healthy linebackers on Detroit’s roster are Malcolm Rodriguez, Derrick Barnes, Trevor Nowaske and Amen Ogbongbemiga. With Campbell, Rolder and White unavailable, Detroit will need additional depth at the position heading into the coming weeks.

Fortunately for the Lions, their next matchup comes against a struggling Miami Dolphins team that currently sits at 1–6. However, the game will be on the road, and anything can happen in the NFL. Detroit has opened as a seven-point favorite, but the team’s growing injury concerns will be something to monitor heading into Sunday’s matchup.