As his fourth NFL season winds down, injuries have unfortunately being the most prevalent thing for Detroit Lions safety Ifeatu Melifonwu. This season has arguably been the worst, with a preseason ankle injury that seemingly should have landed him on IR far sooner sidelining him until mid-November.
Then came a new injury, a finger issue, that basically put him right back on IR until he finally made his season debut in Week 14 against the Chicago Bears. He has stepped into a prominent role right away, playing over 70 percent of the Lions' defensive snaps in two of the last three games. He has also put his versatility on display again, like he did during a breakout stretch late last season, dividing his 136 snaps between free safety (53 snaps), in the box (48 snaps). as a slot corner (30 snaps) and as an outside corner (four snaps).
Ifeatu Melifonwu details finger injury that further derailed his season
Melifonwu spoke to reporters on Thursday, and he revealed the extent of his finger injury.
"Basically, it got dislocated in practice. It was a dislocation that was pretty bad, and they couldn’t just pop it back in," Melifonwu said. "I actually ended up having to have surgery on my finger.”
Back-to-back injuries like he had is obviously frustrating, and Melifonwu noted that.
"It was very frustrating. I just kept the faith and had good people around me, my family and my friends, that didn’t keep me too down", Melifonwu said. "It was very frustrating, especially battling an injury and then coming back and starting my return to play (practice window) and then having a fluke injury keep me out again."
It's been a far less than ideal contract year for Melifonwu. While acknowledging how being healthy for the biggest games of the season will help him as he heads toward free agency, he said he's not thinking about his contract situation.
"I mean, it definitely can help. End of the year games are, I’m not gonna say more important because every game is important, but stuff gets magnified," said Melifonwu. "That’s not my mindset. I’m not thinking about (my) contract and everything. I’m just thinking about each week and what I can do to help the team and play the best and contribute in any way I can.”
Re-signing Melifonwu this offseason feels like a coin-flip proposition for the Lions right now. His postseason performance stands to tip the scales one way or the other, while having the requisite impact on how many other teams might be interested in him.