After a dynamic seven-sack defensive effort, the Detroit Lions will be without one of the key pieces of their defense in Week 4 vs the Browns. After appearing on the injury report on Thursday, Kory Woods of MLive is reporting that Cunningham will miss Week 4 due to a hamstring injury.
Over the past two seasons, the Lions have been one of the most injured teams in the NFL, often rostering a perennial "All-Pro" team on their injured reserve/inactive list. While Cunningham has played on special teams this season than defense (60 total snaps, 11 defense, 49 special teams), his injury still forces a bit of roster manipulation going into Week 4.
Detroit Lions look to depth to replace Zach Cunningham
The Lions will most likely lean on Grant Stuard and Trevor Nowaske to take extra defensive reps, while possibly considering an elevation for Loren Strickland to assist on special teams from the practice squad.
Stuard has been a special teams "ace" since coming into the NFL, and has even been platooning with former UFL All-Pro Jacob Saylors as the Lions primary kick returner.
Nowaske has been with the Lions since 2023 (after a hiatus with the Arizona Cardinals), filling in as reserve linebacker who made an increased impact in 2024 due to injuries. Nowaske made his 2025 debut in Week 3, registering two tackles and a sack against the elusive Lamar Jackson.
The injury to Cunningham is nothing new for Detroit, as the team has consistently managed the roster with injuries being an extremely common occurrence. The team has 15 players on injured reserve/PUP, not even a quarter of the way through the season.
The Lions, who currently sit at 2-1, will look for their third victory of the season against a dysfunctional Browns franchise being led by the immobile Joe Flacco. With the Lions' dynamic front seven, the loss of Cunningham shouldn't affect Detroit's ability to contain the Browns' offense this weekend.