The most significant injury for the Detroit Lions coming out of Sunday's 52-14 domination of the Tennessee Titans was the left ankle injury linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez suffered early in the first quarter. He was carted off, initially ruled questionable to return then fairly quickly ruled out for the rest of the game.
Being ruled out so quickly is usually not good news.
Immediately after the game head coach Dan Campbell acknowledged Rodriguez's injury wasn't good since he couldn't continue playing, but he didn't think it'll be season-ending. Still, the range of outcomes shy of "not season-ending" could be wide.
Campbell wasn't asked about Rodriguez during his Monday press conference, and he did not offer an update if one was able to be given.
However, NFL insider Jordan Schultz had a report about Rodriguez on Monday afternoon.
"Source: LB Malcolm Rodriguez avoided a high ankle sprain in Sunday’s game vs the #Titans ."
"He aggravated an old ankle injury, but it’s nothing severe. Rodrigo is likely to miss Week 9, but should return for Week 10 vs. the # Texans."
So Rodriguez may only miss a game or two, which is definitely great news after the way the injury initially looked.
Lions Wire medical analyst Jimmy Liao tweeted a clip of the play Rodriguez was injured on (punt coverage), with his preliminary diagnosis.
Malcolm Rodriguez L ankle injury video
— Jimmy Liao MD | Detroit Lions Morning Rounds (@JimmyLiaoMD) October 28, 2024
-Hurt on his very 1st play punt coverage. His 2nd play, ankle gives out on him. Did not return.
-Low impact from lateral side likely caused eversion ankle injury
-Suspecting high ankle sprain or medial ankle sprain pic.twitter.com/XlwNTlindD
Malcom Rodriguez injury update: Not looking like a long-term issue
After Derrick Barnes suffered a season-ending knee injury against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 3, Rodriguez had stepped into a bigger defensive role for the Lions (more than 30 defensive snaps in every game after Barnes' injury before Sunday). He had a sack in Week 7 against the Minnesota Vikings, as he also had seven total tackles and five defensive stops in that game (per Pro Football Focus).
The Lions are fortunate to have good linebacker depth to cover for whatever time Rodriguez will miss. Jalen Reeves-Maybin will surely see more defensive snaps, Trevor Nowaske has proven to be a keeper in Barnes' absence and Ben Niemann got some garbage time reps against the Titans.