Lions second-round pick Josh Paschal had surgery for sports hernia

Lions rookie second-round pick Josh Paschal has been revealed to be dealing with a sports hernia, and on Thursday it was revealed he had surgery on it this spring.

Lions rookie defensive end Josh Paschal missed some minicamp time in June with what head coach Dan Campbell described as a “lower extremity” injury that dates back to the end of last season. He was placed on the PUP list before training camp started, and on Wednesday Campbell revealed Paschal was dealing with a sports hernia.

On Thursday morning, Campbell further revealed Paschal had surgery for the sports hernia back in the spring. Campbell couldn’t pinpoint the date of the surgery, as if he would do so anyway, but let’s assume it was after rookie minicamp sometime in mid-May.

Based on Wednesday’s update, and Campbell’s quotes about Paschal “progressing” and having a “version” of sports hernia, it was easy (too easy?) to think he wouldn’t miss a whole lot of practice time during camp and he’d be ready in some capacity for Week 1.

Not so fast. As passed along by Erik Schlitt of Pride of Detroit, opening the season on the PUP list is now a distinct possibility for Paschal. A strong likelihood, even.

Lions: How much time could Josh Paschal miss?

Under new rules, Paschal would only have to miss a minimum of four games if he stayed on the PUP list into the regular season (it was a minimum of six games previously). But if he’s unable to practice during training camp, he’ll be playing catchup whenever he’s able to return to practice. So his NFL debut could be delayed beyond when he could be eligible to take the field in Week 5.

The return to action rules for the PUP list are the same as for IR. If a player returns to practice, the team has three weeks to decide to place him on the active roster or on IR. That said, a player will be able to return to action immediately after the fourth game this season if deemed fit to do so.

In a worst-case scenario, Paschal would ultimately land on season-ending IR and miss his entire rookie season. That doesn’t appear likely right now, so expectations should be set somewhere between missing four and six games if he stays on the PUP list into the season.

But given the trend of the details given about his injury the last couple days, nothing should be totally ruled out regarding Paschal’s status and the range of outcomes is wide until further notice.