Injuries were a prominent story at Detroit Lions' training camp on Tuesday. The headliner was defensive lineman John Cominsky, who suffered a torn MCL in his right knee after being rolled up on. "The Commish" is out indefinitely, with the possibility he could return for the playoffs.
Wednesday morning, head coach Dan Campbell confirmed Cominsky will be out a long time while professing optimism about a return for the playoffs. As a matter of procedure, as noted by Erik Schlitt of Pride of Detroit, the Lions likely won't place Cominsky on IR until final roster cuts to keep the option open for him to return late in the season. Putting him on IR now would eliminate that possibility.
Cominsky was a nice waiver wire find for the Lions in 2022. He became a key piece of the defensive line, registering four sacks and 44 quarterback pressures (according to Pro Football Focus) over 14 games. He also played with a club on his hand down the stretch of that season after thumb surgery only cost him two games, adhering himself to teammates and coaches.
Cominsky was not as productive overall last season. But his 569 snaps were still top-10 on the Lions' defense, and the proverbial "dirty work" he does made him a valuable piece, and now he's an underrated loss. Russell Brown of Lions Wire did a nice breakdown lauding Cominsky as a more impactful loss than people realize.
It felt like Cominsky was somewhere on the roster bubble as training camp got rolling, but if it came down to it he potentially would have had some preseason trade value.
As the Lions look for someone to replace Cominsky, here are some options that could be on the radar.