Detroit Lions rookie tackle Blake Miller popped up on the teams' estimated injury report on Monday afternoon, with a knee injury named as the reason why he would've sat out a full practice ahead of their Week 2 Buffalo Bills game.
Miller played in a majority of the Lions' Week 1 overtime win over the New Orleans Saints, giving up just one pressure and zero sacks on the afternoon. Overall, the Lions' offensive line looked really improved compared to their Week 1 collapse against the Green Bay Packers last season, and they'll be looking to improve even more against a so-so Bills defensive front on Thursday night.
While Miller's knee injury is obviously cause for concern, it doesn't sound like the rookie is all that worried about it. He told reporters yesterday regarding his injury:
"Short week, long week, it doesn't matter. I'm doing everything I humanly can to get my body feeling the best it can feel. Even with the progress just today that I've made, I'm happy and I'm optimistic."
Miller is further endearing himself to Lions fans with no-quit attitude
When you think of Detroit, Detroit sports, and the Lions specifically, you think of grit. Obviously, no one wants to see a player just grind through an injury and further injure themselves, especially a rookie like Miller who has arrived to the Lions with some fanfare. But, Miller is clearly the kind of player the Lions thought he was throughout the pre-draft process: someone with a toughness, reliability, and, again, grit.
He never missed a start while with Clemson, and he played throughout the entirety of the Lions' training camp, rookie minicamp, and in preseason whenever called upon.
Of course, it's such a Lions thing to happen that he finally deals with an injury that forces him to "not practice" after just his first week with the team. But, again, it was a walkthrough day and an estimated practice report, so we shouldn't read too much into it in relation to his availability against the Bills on Thursday.
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He's just one of a few examples from this year's draft class that shows that the front office, and speciflcally Brad Holmes, still has some juice with regard to the process. While they seem to keep whiffing on free agent signings - see: Isiah Pacheco's availability this season - they've done a good job of reeling in reliable talent in the draft outside of a disastrous 2024 class.
Miller, Skyler Gill-Howard, and rookie UDFA Eric O'Neill stand out in this regard, and we've still yet to see Derrick Moore or Jimmy Rolder add to the success of the class. Hopefully, he's good to go against a slightly weaker defensive line in Buffalo for Week 2, but if not, Detroit does have some decent insurance in Larry Borom to fill in the gap on the right side of the line.
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