T.J. Hockenson Elected Surgery After Understanding Severity of Hand Injury
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Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell confirmed reports of T.J. Hockenson missing the remainder of the season during his media availability on Friday.
Hockenson, the team’s starting tight end, finishes the season with 61 catches for 583 yards and four touchdowns in 12 games played. He underwent thumb surgery Thursday. Campbell said he suffered the injury in the team’s win over the Minnesota Vikings two weeks ago.
“He had surgery (Thursday),” Campbell said. “Fixed his hand, and so obviously, that’ll probably do him in right there. So, we’ll miss him, and everything went well, though.”
Campbell said it was a decision made after understanding the severity of the injury. He said it was Hockenson’s decision.
“We encourage these guys to, you get it assessed, you get a second opinion and then the player weighs the options,” Campbell said. “And that’s what it comes down to.”
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Pleasant coping as secondary hit by COVID outbreak
With nine players currently in coronavirus protocol, the Lions will have to piece together a full roster for Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals.
The team has made a flurry of signings to combat the depleted group of players. The NFL has also tried to go against this, instituting new rules that could allow vaccinated players to return from the protocols quicker.
Though these new rules are in place, Detroit may not see benefits right away. Campbell said Friday that it’s “highly unlikely” that the Lions will get some of their players back from protocol.
The Lions who have been in COVID protocol include RB Jamaal Williams, C Evan Brown, S Tracy Walker III and cornerbacks Ifeatu Melifonwu, Bobby Price and Mark Gilbert. Cornerbacks Nickell Robey-Coleman and Corey Ballantine, along with linebacker Tavante Beckett, are on practice-squad COVID/IR.
There have been seven COVID-19 cases within the defensive backs room, which has taxed secondary coach Aubrey Pleasant. Additionally, two youngsters, Jeff Okudah and Jerry Jacobs, have been lost to season-ending injuries.
Despite this, he remains collected and committed to his group.
“This is my job, this is my profession,” Pleasant said. “I take these challenges personally. Right now, deep down, I grabbed back some of my experiences as a high school football coach. Coach what they give you, making every young man learn, prepared and ready to go. I really believe that some of those past experiences have got me through this entire season or more specifically, these last two weeks.”
Pleasant, like his fellow Lions coaches, isn’t using the roster changes as an excuse.
“I know that at the end of the day, my job is really evaluated by the way that my guys play and the amount of plays that they are able to make,” Pleasant said. “So, at the end of the day, no matter who is out there putting on a Detroit Lions uniform and helmet, if you play in the defensive backfield, the standard is the standard for me.”
Lynn confident in run game
With Dan Campbell taking over the play-calling duties, offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn has shifted his goals to the run game.
A former running back with the Denver Broncos, Lynn is knowledgeable in the schemes that it takes to run the ball effectively. Even without starters Williams and D’Andre Swift against Denver, the Lions still got 83 yards rushing out of Craig Reynolds.
“Craig Reynolds Sunday was the way he’s been practicing,” Lynn said. “He was not a surprise to anyone. That’s just who he is. (Assistant head coach/running backs coach) Duce Staley, his coach, calls him ‘Netflix’ because he was home watching Netflix one day and the next night, he was scoring touchdowns. That’s just Craig. We love him.”
That performance from Reynolds, who began the year on the team’s practice squad, emphasizes the strength that Detroit can have in the run game. When the offensive line is healthy, players such as Swift and Williams have had successful days.
Swift currently leads the Lions in rushing with 555 yards. Meanwhile, Williams has amassed 459 yards on the ground.
Now, Lynn is focused on carrying and sustaining that success. For the Detroit offensive coordinator, that starts with putting together effective schemes.
“The concepts to me is how you execute the concepts and then it’s the matchups,” Lynn said. “We’re looking for matchups, getting this guy on that guy. I’ve actually had to scale back. When I was in Buffalo, I had a mobile quarterback. Not to say that (Jared Goff) JG’s not a mobile guy, but we did a lot more things when I was in Buffalo. Here you’re lining up, you’re running your power game and you’re trying to bury them with your run-action game. Our guys are big, they’re athletic and if they can lean on you for four quarters, they can work you down.”
