After a fully healthy breakthrough campaign in 2024, where Pro Football Focus graded him as to-30 defensive tackle and he had a pass rush win rate that was top-15 at the position, Levi Onwuzurike was in line to possibly cash in nicely as a free agent
So when he came back to the Detroit Lions on just a one-year, $4 million deal in March, it was somewhat surprising. That said, last year was the best season of Onwuzurike's career by far. A history of back issues, including missing the entire 2022 season after having major surgery, also informed a "let's see you do it again" vibe from the league at-large.
Then, as the Lions' opened training camp in July, Onwuzurike was placed on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list.
Days later, before the team's first camp practice, head coach Dan Campbell announced Onwuzurike would miss the entire 2025 season due to a torn ACL.
"Let me start with Levi. Levi’s out for the year," Campbell said. "Levi’s surgery, it was significant but it needed to be done. Out of his control, so he will miss the season.”
Onwuzurike missed one game last season, Week 14 against the Green Bay Packers, due to a hamstring issue. In the regular season finale against the Minnesota Vikings, he was spotted wearing a brace on his right knee. He also briefly went down before coming back into the game.
As I suspected yesterday, Onwuzurike ACL was not straightforward. Dan Campbell comments today strongly suggest it started last season.
— Jimmy Liao MD | Detroit Lions Morning Rounds (@JimmyLiaoMD) July 21, 2025
Here was Levi wearing a right knee brace in Week 18. Wore it for playoff game also. pic.twitter.com/ZptcN3wdgR
But up until July, when it had to be explained to some extent if he was going on the PUP list, there was no indication Onwuzurike was dealing with a more significant knee injury.
Doctor has perfectly logical explanation for what may have happened to Levi Onwuzurike
Mike Payton of AtoZ Sports recently sat down with Dr. Clayton Nuelle from the University of Missouri. Nuelle is regarded as an expert in ACL injuries, so he was able to offer some insight into what may have happened with Onwuzurike.
As is the case with most injuries, ACL tears can have a wide variation in terms of severity. Nuelle went into that with Payton.
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“You can tear a ligament, 10%, 50%, 90%, 100% and you can have concomitant injuries in other areas of the knee or other areas of the joint, ligament, meniscus, cartilage, whatever,” Nuelle said. “And so there’s definite variations and gradations to these injuries, and a player can partially tear their ACL, and if it’s just a very, very small percentage, especially a high elite level athlete, there’s a chance they could potentially rehab that and stay strong and continue playing, especially if it’s a playoff push, or they’re in a contract year, or all those different things that we see at the NFL.”
So it's possible, if not likely, Onwuzurike had a small percentage tear of what appears to be his right ACL late last season, With rehab and a brace, he was able to play through it for a couple games. And (obviously) while rehab can fix a partial ACL tear, as Dr. Nuelle told Payton, it's possible to tear the ligament further.
It's unclear what happened with Onwuzurike, and we'll probably never know the exact details. But the idea he had a minor tear of his ACL (relatively speaking) and it got worse over time during the offseason has made sense, and now there's an informed medical opinion to back it up.