The Detroit Lions were hammered by the injury bug so much on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals that what happened to Marcus Davenport was easy to overlook. He suffered what looked to be arm injury, since he returned to the game with a sleeve on his left elbow, but the team offered no update or elaboration about the injury during or immediately after the game.
Turns out, as reported by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Davenport suffered a "serious and significant" elbow injury. Rapoport further reported the Lions' edge rusher could miss the rest of the season, pending the results of further tests as of the report early Monday afternoon.
Head coach Dan Campbell opened his Monday press conference by confirming Davenport is done for the season.
Dan Campbell opens confirming a season-ending injury for Davenport. Also said Barnes is out for a significant amount of time.
— Justin Rogers | Detroit Football Network (@Justin_Rogers) September 23, 2024
So not good news for the Lions from Dan Campbell's news conference today. Marcus Davenport done for the season - "still getting some other opinions on it" - and Derrick Barnes will be done a significant amount of time
— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) September 23, 2024
The Lions knew what they were getting into when they signed Davenport, in terms of injury risk and durability concerns. This injury was unique though, as Cardinals' left tackle Paris Johnson clearly did a dirty move by taking his hand and chopping down on Davenport's arm.
The Lions could use some current players as edge rushers to fill the void left by Davenport (Levi Onwuzurike, Josh Paschal, Mehki Wingo, James Houston). But it's also fair to say outside replacement options will be explored to some extent, if only in the name of due diligence to see if anyone might make sense.
On that front, here are five edge rusher options the Lions could look to add.
5 edge rushers the Lions could look at to replace Marcus Davenport
5. Carl Lawson, Dallas Cowboys (practice squad)
Lawson lingered available for a while before the Dallas Cowboys signed him. He was elevated from the practice squad for the first time in Week 3, and played eight defensive snaps.
After a solidly productive 2022 season for the New York Jets (seven sacks), where he played all 17 games, Lawson played in just six games for them last season. He was often a healthy scratch, which pushed some trade rumors. Over the games he did play he barely topped 100 snaps (101), and in the middle of the season he lamented his lack of action without openly driving controversy.
Lawson missed the entire 2021 season with a torn Achilles, but he seemed to put any lingering concern about any ramifications of that injury to bed immediately in 2022.
The pickings are obviously pretty slim right now. But the idea of poaching Lawson off Dallas' practice squad, with the requirement he has to be signed to the active roster, could be on the radar with the news on Davenport's injury confirmed to be as dire as initially reported.