Early Turmoil Is Already Plaguing Detroit’s Campaign
The Detroit Lions have been nearly unbeatable for the Minnesota Vikings under Kevin O’Connell’s watch. Minnesota’s standout head coach is 34-17 in his three regular seasons, but his record against the division rivals is 1-5, with the five losses coming consecutively after a victory in his Lions debut in 2022.
Early Turmoil Is Already Plaguing Detroit’s Campaign
The juggernaut nemesis, however, might not be nearly as impressive in the upcoming season as they were in 2023 and 2024, when Detroit was among the very best teams in the NFL.
The reasons for that are the roster and the coaching staff. In the latter department, the organization lost both coordinators to head coaching gigs. Aaron Glenn will lead the New York Jets, and Ben Johnson is the new captain of the Chicago Bears.
Roster-wise, the Lions’ worst loss is certainly Fran Ragnow, one of the elite centers in the game and the heart and soul of the outstanding offensive line. He retired in June. The other two interior linemen also departed, leaving only the two tackles (granted, they are excellent) from the dominant line.
On Sunday, head coach Dan Campbell announced that defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike would miss the entire 2025 campaign due to an ACL injury that required surgery.
“Levi’s surgery was significant, but it needed to be done,” Campbell said. “Out of his control, but needed to be done, so he will miss the season. You don’t like to lose anybody. Certainly, losing Levi, that hurts, but it helps that we’ve got (rookie defensive lineman) Tyleik (Williams), so we’ve got a little bit of balance here.”
Injuries have been a huge problem for the once-promising defender, who has only appeared in 42 games through four seasons. He missed the entire 2022 campaign with a back injury and sat out seven games in 2023.
Last season, Onwuzurike started 10 of the 16 games he appeared in and recorded 1.5 sacks and 28 tackles. Certainly, his stats don’t look too impressive, but that’s the name of the game for an interior defensive lineman. This offseason, he signed a one-year contract to remain with the Lions as his free-agency market was surprisingly slow. His knee injury might have been the reason why.
Last year, Detroit struggled heavily with injuries on the defensive side of the ball as their defenders were dropping like flies, and coordinator Glenn had to work wonders with guys the front office had picked up from the streets. That didn’t stop the blue rivals from winning 15 of the 17 regular-season games, but they fell short in the playoffs, immediately getting bounced by the Washington Commanders led by rookie sensation Jayden Daniels.
Onwuzurike’s tragedy could be the chance for rookie first-rounder Tyleik Williams. The Ohio State champion and college teammate of Minnesota’s new guard Donovan Jackson was surpsingly added in the draft although most expected a new pass-rusher to be the target. Yet, Campbell’s Lions preferneced a run-stuffer and he could have a signifciant role in Week 1.
Jeremy Reisman of Pride of Detroit wrote about the injury news, “It’s a major blow for the Lions’ defensive line, considering Onwuzurike was lined up to potentially start, given that Detroit will already be without Alim McNeill for a significant portion of the season after tearing his ACL in December. Detroit’s depth will be tested early in the season, with players like DJ Reader, Roy Lopez, Pat O’Connor, and, most notably, first-round pick Tyleik Williams.”
Detroit won’t be an easy matchup for the Vikings by any means, but the last few months might have tiipped the scale a little in Minnesota’s favor.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.