Sunday's 20-16 loss was bad enough for the Detroit Lions, a couple notable injuries occurred in the game.
Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown had a bounce back game after a down Week 1, with 11 catches for 119 yards against the Buccaneers. But he suffered what appeared to be a leg injury, and appeared to be in serious pain during the final drive.
Linebacker Alex Anzalone left the game after taking a hit to the head from fellow linebacker Derrick Barnes on the touchdown run by Buccaneers' quarterback Baker Mayfield late in the third quarter.
Anzalone was eventually ruled out due to being in concussion protocol.
#Lions Injury Update:
— Detroit Lions PR (@LionsPR) September 15, 2024
LB Alex Anzalone (Concussion Protocol) is downgraded to Out.
Here's a closer look at the play Anzalone was injured on, Warning, it's pretty brutal.
Alex Anzalone concussion video. Brutal helmet shot into right jaw. pic.twitter.com/exl3YHsQjf
— Jimmy Liao MD | Detroit Lions Morning Rounds (@JimmyLiaoMD) September 15, 2024
Rookie cornerback Ennis Rakestraw was a surprise inactive on Sunday. It was hard to believe he was benched, but it was unclear.
Lions injury updates: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Alex Anzalone, Ennis Rakestraw
After the game, Lions head coach Dan Campbell had updates on injuries.
The details of St. Brown's injuries have not been specified by the team. But Campbell had a brief positive note.
"No, he's alright," Campbell said. "I don't think it's anything long-term, so that's good news."
Regarding Rakestraw, Campbell said he suffered a hamstring injury pre-game, right before inactives had to be declared. So the second-round rookie was not benched, as was easy to speculate in the moment when inactives were announced.
"Yeah he was -- it happened in pregame," Campbell said. "It was a little hamstring, I don't know. That happened literally four minutes before we had to turn in the inactives, so we were up against the clock."
As expected due to the nature of his injury, and the team's announcement he has a concussion standing as the gospel, Campbell had no further update on Anzalone right after the game.
Rookie cornerback Terrion Arnold left Sunday's game briefly with a finger injury, but he was back in so quickly that reporters had barely gone to Twitter to report he had left.