Detroit Lions were still one of most injured teams in NFL last season

It was not quite as bad as 2021, but the Detroit Lions were still among the most injured teams in the NFL during the 2022 season. 

As they went through a dismal 2021 campaign, the Detroit Lions lost the most starter games to injury and Football Outsiders gave them the third-most Adjusted Games Lost in the league.

The glow of a 9-8 season, after a 1-6 start, makes it easier to miss some of the things that didn’t go so well for the 2022 Lions. But injuries were a big factor again, as key players like Tracy Walker, D’Andre Swift, DJ Chark, Romeo Okwara and Charles Harris missed noticeable chunks of time.

Football Outsiders is out with its Adjusted Games Lost for the 2022 season. While not the practical disaster it was in 2021, due to a better roster top to bottom, the Lions were still greatly impacted by injuries last season.

Here’s the formula for Adjusted Games Lost:

"Adjusted games lost doesn’t just add up total injuries. It accounts for both absent players and those playing at less than 100%, and it gives more weight to injuries to expected starters and situational players than to expected backups. As such, AGL estimates the impact of injuries on teams and provides a comparable total that often succinctly explains why teams improved or declined from one year to the next."

Detroit Lions remained one of the most injured teams in NFL last season

Aaron Schatz of Football Outsiders had an observation which only further highlights just how good the Lions offense was last season given the injuries along the offensive line.

Overall, the Lions had the sixth-most Adjusted Games Lost last season (108.7). That, as mentioned, was an improvement over 2021’s 120.4 AGL, which was the third-most in the league and a category you obviously don’t want to be high in.

Even within last season, from a 1-6 start to an 8-2 finish, better health correlated to more winning for the Lions. This offseason’s upgrade to the field surface at Ford Field should only help players be healthier, and particularly avoid lower body injuries. It will be interesting to see what 2023’s AGL number looks like.