Lions injury breakdown: Brodric Martin’s right knee

Examining Lions DT Brodric Martin and the knee injury he suffered against the Steelers

Brodric Martin, the Lions 3rd round pick in 2023, hurt his right knee late in the 3rd quarter of the final preseason game vs the Steelers. This is an important preseason for Martin who the Lions hope can take a 2nd year leap in productivity.

The injury video is obscured, but you can see Martin take a hard step onto his right leg as a Steeler lineman is pushing him. This mechanism could cause a knee hyperextension which can result in a bone bruise and knee ligament sprains.

On the field, the Lions’ medical appeared to do a Lachman test to check the ACL, which Martin presumably passed. Dan Campbell postgame confirmed a knee hyperextension. MRI likely will be done to check for knee ligament or cartilage injury.

INJURY DATE: 8/24/24

SUSPECTED DIAGNOSIS: Right knee hyperextension with bone bruise

PROGNOSIS: Based on limited video and initial reports, I suspect the hyperextension is mild. There is a fair chance he could play in the opener but could miss 1-2 games depending on how the knee responds. Assuming no surprises on MRI, this is a minor setback and I don’t expect any long-term issues. For comparison, Sam LaPorta did not miss any games last year after his week 18 left knee hyperextension and subsequently performed well in the playoffs.