After Saturday's preseason finale, Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell had some updates on injured players. Most of his comments were on the positive side, regarding right tackle Penei Sewell, running back Craig Reynolds and defensive tackle Brodric Martin, who suffered a knee injury in the game against the Steelers.
But Campbell also had this one, regarding safety Ifeatu Melifonwu.
"Not sure. He’s been out for a little while. Nothing that we feel like is long-term, yet it’s continuing to take a little while. So I’m not too sure on that one. I don’t know when we’ll have him back or if he’ll be back what that timeline is.”
It's unclear when Melifonwu suffered his injury, or what the injury even is. But he missed both practices last week, and he did not play against the Steelers in the preseason finale.
Now Campbell is talking out of both sides of his mouth, saying Melifonwu's injury is "nothing that we feel like is long-term" and also saying "I don't know when we'll have him back, or if he'll be back what the timeline is."
Injury outlook for Ifeatu Melifonwu just vague enough to be very concerning
Injuries have unfortunately been a big part of Melifonwu's NFL career, now going into his fourth year. A thigh injury cost him significant time as rookie, then he was banged up at times during his second season as he made the transition from cornerback to safety. A hand injury restricted him to special teams for a fair stretch of last season, before he became a starter in Week 14.
Over that time, Week 14 through the end of last season, Melifonwu was simply excellent. Pro Football Focus graded him as a top-10 safety in the league for the regular season, and over those final eight games (including the playoffs) he had five sacks, 42 total tackles, four tackles for loss, two interceptions, seven pass breakups and eight quarterback hits.
With Brian Branch making the move to safety, there have been some questions about Melifonwu's role this year. Apart from that, an injury that would land him on IR or the PUP list to start the season would have implications for how the Lions' initial 53-man roster takes shape before Tuesday afternoon's deadline.