Let’s start with arguably the biggest loss dealt to the Lions this fall. Hutchinson put up an All-Pro pace across four-plus games this season. His 7.5 sacks still lead the team and are a top 25 mark across the NFL despite the fact he hasn’t played since October 13. His absence is a big reason why Detroit has a top-four blitz rate but ranks just 14 in pressure rate and 22nd when it comes to sacks.

Davenport was lost for the season with a torn triceps in Week 2. The former New Orleans Saint was supposed to feast alongside Hutchinson’s pressure. Instead, he played only 89 snaps.

McNeill has been a productive and occasionally overlooked piece of Detroit’s defensive puzzle since his 2021 debut. His 3.5 sacks rank second on the team to Hutchinson and his 10.8 percent pressure rate is a career high. He left Week 15’s loss to the Buffalo Bills with a torn ACL.

The Lions’ veteran off-ball linebacker had cut his missed tackle rate down from 14.6 percent in 2023 to 9.7 percent this fall. Unfortunately, he was unable to build on that; a forearm injury suffered in Week 11 could keep him out until mid-January.

Barnes worked his way up from fourth round pick to starting linebacker alongside Anzalone in the middle of the Lions’ lineup. An uneven start gave way to MCL and PCL injuries that took him off the field for the bulk of 2024, though it’s possible he could return for Detroit’s playoff push.

Rodriguez’s presence helped stabilize Detroit’s linebacker corps after injuries to Barnes and then Anzalone. He started six games in 10 appearances this fall, registering a pair of sacks before a torn ACL ended his season in Week 13.

Reeves-Maybin filled in a bit at linebacker, playing 20 percent of Detroit’s defensive snaps in eight games this season. His true value is as a special teams ace, where he’s a dependable blocker, tackler and occasional fake punt devastator. He was placed on injured reserve with a neck injury after Week 9.

Cominsky started eight games in 2022 and was a valuable rotational player along the Lions’ defensive line in 2023. He has yet to play a snap in 2024 thanks to a torn MCL, but could return this winter.

Melifonwu made six starts at safety last season for a depleted Lions secondary. He would have been a valuable depth option behind Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph this fall, but he has yet to play thanks to an ankle injury that will likely cost him his entire 2024 campaign.

Davis’s 77.0 passer rating allowed was the lowest of his career and he provided a valuable veteran cantilever to rookie Terrion Arnold in the secondary. He’s out six weeks after breaking his jaw in Week 15.

The Knuckles to Jahmyr Gibbs’s Sonic, Montgomery was a vital piece of the Lions’ two-headed rushing attack. He’d scored 12 rushing touchdowns in Detroit’s first 13 games. An MCL injury will sideline him at least temporarily and potentially through the end of 2024.