Bad news on the injury front for Lions quarterback Nate Sudfeld. He is expected to miss the 2023 season after tearing his ACL in Friday night’s exhibition win over the Carolina Panthers.
Sudfeld had an awkward step and fall while trying to outrun a tackle near the Panthers’ sideline. After being examined by Carolina’s training staff for several minutes, Sudfeld left the field on a cart.
Before Monday’s practice, Lions head coach Dan Campbell wouldn’t speculate on the extent of Sudfeld’s injury, saying,
“I’m not going to confirm that. He’s getting a second opinion right now.”
Per several reports, that second opinion is that the team’s backup QB in 2022 did indeed tear his ACL.
Campbell continued,
“Well, if it is the deal with Nate, it’s awful, and I hate that for him. That’s tough because Nate’s given us everything he’s had and he came in last year and brought something to us, and somebody we were very comfortable with, enough to sign him back. And so, I hate that if that’s the way it goes here.”
Sudfeld had fallen behind newcomer Teddy Bridgewater on the Lions depth chart as Jared Goff’s primary backup. There has been discussion about the concept of keeping both Bridgewater and Sudfeld on the 53-man roster early in the season, but that is now a moot point.
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The Lions have until Tuesday, August 29th at 4 p.m. ET to either release Sudfeld with an injury settlement or place him on injured reserve.