4 potential options for Detroit Lions to replace John Cominsky
as been a major piece of the Lions’ defensive line for the last two seasons, and here is his replacement.
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.
4 options Detroit Lions could explore to replace John Cominsky
Detroit Lions injury update: John Cominsky, DJ Reader, Netane Muti
The Detroit Lions made it through their first padded training camp practice on Monday with no injuries. Tuesday’s session was a different story. Defensive lineman John Cominsky suffered a right knee injury after being rolled up on, and guard Netane Muti left practice due to a left shoulder issue.
Cominsky had to be carted off the practice field after trying to walk off under his own power. While that increases the concern level that it’s a major injury, a full evaluation is still to come and the cart is an easy precaution in a situation like that.
Cominsky has been getting reps with the third-team defense so far in training camp, which is a sign he’s somewhere on the roster bubble after taking a pay cut this offseason.
Muti has sort of surfaced as an early sneaky candidate to make the Lions’ roster. He has been working regularly with the second-team offense.
Detroit Lions injury updates
Before Tuesday’s practice, Lions head coach Dan Campbell had a update on rookie guard Christian Mahogany, who continues to miss practice due to an illness and is on the NFI (Non-Football Injury) list.
“Yeah, really, I can’t, I don’t want — here’s what you do know,” Campbell said. “Any time a rookie’s missed, here we go, we’re going on practice six and he’s still not here, yes, you get concerned with the development of the player because they need everything. You miss one day as a rookie and that’s tough to recover from because you don’t have two-a-days anymore.”
“I don’t want to say we’re concerned. And it’s a real thing, you know, this illness. It really is a day-by-day. We have virtually checked him in, so he’s virtually in meetings and things of that nature. But, when we know he’s ready to get here and be a part of what we’re doing, believe us, we’ll get him here as fast as possible. But as of right now, we have to assume we don’t have him.”
Running back Zonovan Knight and undrafted rookie wide receiver Jalon Calhoun were absent from Tuesday’s practice for undisclosed reasons. Defensive back Brian Branch was in pads, but limited, as was safety C.J. Moore.
Defensive tackle DJ Reader remains on the PUP list as he works his way back from a torn right quad tendon last season. After he casted some doubt on his status for the season opener recently, he talked with ESPN’s Eric Woodyard on Tuesday.
Cominsky’s injury is the biggest injury headline for the Lions on Tuesday, and of camp so far. An update, for better or possibly worse, seems likely to come on Wednesday.
Update, 4:55 p.m. ET: According to multiple reports, Cominsky suffered a torn MCL and is expected to miss the entire regular season.