Tag: Kyle Peko

Hope index for each of the Detroit Lions injured reserve players

Hope index for each of the Detroit Lions injured reserve players and if/when they can return to action, including Aidan Hutchinson and Derrick Barnes

Hope and optimism are filling the air this holiday season for Lions fans. There is more reason for hope than any season in decades with an NFL-leading 11-1 record. With the playoffs rapidly approaching, team health from this point forward will be a major factor in determining their fate.

Let’s check the outlook of the players on injured reserve (IR) using quotes about hope from some of my favorite movies.

“You must complete your mission. You must lay the seeds for the future. You’re here to influence history and worlds to come.”

– Mr. Robertson in Predestination

Aidan Hutchinson – left tibia/fibula fracture, October 13

This superstar DE was on the short list for defensive player of the year before his injury. The timeline for a tib/fib recovery is typically at least four months.

The Super Bowl is 17 weeks from the time of his injury. I expect him to return for the big game, albeit in limited fashion and with limited ability. He won’t have his usual quickness, strength, or stamina, but he may still be effective as a decoy and distraction to the opponent. The greatest value of his early return may be off-the-field as an inspirational, emotional boost to the team and the fanbase.

Next season, he should be back to his elite self as he cements his influence on Lions history.

“I do not believe it to be a matter of hope, it is simply a matter of time.”

– Morpheus in The Matrix

These players have short-term injuries that will allow them to return for the start of the playoffs or even before.

Alex Anzalone – left forearm fracture, November 17

This speedy starting LB has an estimated 6-8 week recovery for his forearm. The silver lining to the injury is that his legs are unaffected allowing him to return stronger and fresher than before. December 30 (Week 17) or January 5 (Week 18) are likely dates for his return.

Kalif Raymond – left foot, November 24

The Lions’ primary kick returner and valuable backup WR fortunately avoided a serious foot injury. He is expected to be back at the latest for the start of the playoffs, and is eligible to return with two games left in the regular season on December 30.

“I will see you again. But not yet. Not yet.”

– Juba in Gladiator

It’s unknown whether we will see these players yet again this season due to uncertain severity and prognosis. But they are signed with the Lions for future years, so if they don’t return this season, we should see them in the next.

Jalen Reeves-Maybin – neck, November 3

This special-teams captain and valuable backup LB has an unspecified neck injury. He is eligible to return December 5 (week 14) and is signed through the 2025 season.

Ennis Rakestraw – hamstring, November 22

This 2nd-round rookie has had two hamstring issues this season. The first one in September cost him two games. The second will cost at least four games with the earliest possible return date of December 22 (week 16). He is in the 1st year of his 4-year rookie contract.

“Hope Can Be A Dangerous Thing.”

– Red in The Shawshank Redemption

Ifeatu Melifonwu – ankle, August 17; finger, November 14

After ending last season in spectacular fashion, there was hope that Melifonwu could build on that this year. Unfortunately, multiple prolonged injuries this year made hope for his return a dangerous thing.

After an injury to his ankle area in preseason, there was an uncertain recovery causing a delayed placement on IR. I suspect Achilles tendonitis, given the uncertain recovery timeline.

After he started his practice window in November, he was placed on IR a second time with an unspecified finger injury. The recovery timeline of the finger is unknown, and it’s not even certain that the ankle/Achilles is ready-to-go.

Hope is fading that he can help the team at all this year. The earliest he can return is December 22 (week 16).

“My mama always told me that miracles happen every day. Some people don’t think so, but they do.”

– Forrest in Forrest Gump

These players have long-term injuries with recovery timelines of multiple months. It may take a minor miracle for them to return for the playoffs.

John Cominsky – MCL, July 30

The “Commish” had MCL surgery with an estimated 5-6 month recovery. If the estimate is accurate, he could be back in January. His return would aide both the DT and DE positions as he can effectively play both.

Derrick Barnes – right MCL & PCL, September 22

This hybrid LB/DE had surgery for an MCL and PCL injury. There is still a glimmer of hope he could return late in the playoffs. However, he will need to make fast progress in rehab as he was only just getting on an exercise bike in mid-November.

“Hope is a mistake. If you can’t fix what’s broken, you’ll go insane.”

– Max in Mad Max: Fury Road

For these players, hope for a return this season is a mistake. Their injuries will have been surgically fixed and require a long recovery.

Malcolm Rodriguez – right ACL, November 28

Rodrigo tore his ACL on Thanksgiving. The recovery timeline is around 11 months so hopefully he’ll be back around October next year. Expect him to start training camp on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list. He is signed through the 2025 season on his rookie contract.

Marcus Davenport – left elbow, September 22

This free agent was signed to start at DE opposite Hutchinson but only appeared in two games before hurting his left elbow. Scattered reports suggest a triceps rupture and there does not appear to be any possibility he’ll be back this season.

Kyle Peko – left pec rupture, October 13

This valuable backup DT ruptured his pec requiring surgery. Given the importance of pec strength to his position, there is no hope for a return this season.

Mekhi Wingo – right knee, November 28

Dan Campbell stated that this 6th-round rookie DT would be out for the season with an unspecified knee injury that will probably require surgery.

“Welcome to the party, pal!”

– John McClane in Die Hard

Congrats to these players who have battled through long stints on IR to join the active roster party.

Brodric Martin – right knee hyperextension, August 24

This 2nd-year DT played for the first time this season on Thanksgiving with two defensive snaps. With injuries mounting along the defensive line, his workload may spike in the next game.

Emmanuel Moseley – pec rupture, August 5

This 28-year-old CB has recovered from pec surgery, not to mention ACL tears each of the past two years. On November 24, he returned to play 15 special teams snaps vs the Colts. Unexpectedly, he was inactive the next game vs the Bears due to a minor unspecified pregame issue.

And one final quote, for all Lions fans in the midst of this glorious season…

“The unknown future rolls toward us. I face it, for the first time, with a sense of hope.”

– Sarah Connor in Terminator 2

3 ex-Broncos players found new NFL homes on Tuesday

Ex-Broncos players Brandon McManus (Packers), Marquez Callaway (Bucs) and Ronnie Perkins (Cardinals) found new NFL homes on Tuesday.

A trio of former Denver Broncos players found new NFL homes on Tuesday.

Perhaps most notably, the Green Bay Packers signed kicker Brandon McManus. He served as Denver’s kicker from 2014-2022, helping the team win Super Bowl 50 following the 2015 season.

Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed wide receiver Marquez Callaway. He had a cup of coffee with the Broncos last summer, competing in training camp and preseason before being cut when Denver set its 53-man roster.

Finally, the Arizona Cardinals signed pass rusher Ronnie Perkins to their practice squad. Perkins spent part of the last two years with the Broncos before being released from injured reserve with an injury settlement last month.

Elsewhere on the ex-Denver player front, the Falcons promoted defensive lineman Matt Hennessy to their 53-man roster.

On the injury front, the Cardinals placed kicker Matt Prater (knee) on injured reserve and the Lions placed defensive lineman Kyle Peko (pec) on IR.

As for the Broncos, they cut two players on Tuesday, perhaps to make room for other players set to return from IR this week.

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Lions officially place 2 on I.R., sign Isaiah Thomas

Lions officially place Aidan Hutchinson and Kyle Peko on I.R., sign Isaiah Thomas

It’s now official: the Detroit Lions have placed Aidan Hutchinson on the injured reserve list.

The Lions announced the move on Tuesday, two days after the standout EDGE broke his left legbroke his left leg in a blowout win over the Dallas Cowboys.

Detroit also placed DT Kyle Peko on I.R. Peko tore a pectoral muscle. Peko tore a pectoral muscle in Dallas and is out indefinitely. While neither player is expected to return in 2024, being placed on the reserve list means Hutchinson and Peko are each out a minimum of four games.

With one of the open spots on the 53-man roster, the Lions signed EDGE Isaiah ThomasLions signed EDGE Isaiah Thomas. The newest member of the Lions den comes to Detroit from the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad. Because he was signed from the practice squad of another team, Thomas must remain on Detroit’s active roster for at least three games.

Lions lose DT Kyle Peko to a chest injury

Lions lose DT Kyle Peko to a chest injury suffered early in the Week 6 win over Dallas

The Lions lost more than just Aidan Hutchinson to injury in the Week 6 win over Dallas. Detroit also saw veteran defensive tackle Kyle Peko go down with a serious injury.

Reports indicate that Peko suffered a torn pectoral muscle during the first quarter of the Lions’ 47-9 win over the Cowboys. He was injured while trying to make a tackle in the run game and was quickly ruled out by the Lions team doctors. That injury would sideline Peko for the foreseeable future.

The Lions do have Brodric Martin at Peko’s position. Martin is currently on injured reserve, but head coach Dan Campbell has recently indicated on multiple occasions that Martin is close to returning.

If Peko’s season is indeed over, his Lions tenure ends with one tackle and one QB hit in 86 snaps across three games. Peko is playing on a one-year contract in Detroit.

Lions vs Cowboys: Monday postgame medical report for Detroit

Lions vs Cowboys: Monday postgame medical report for Detroit, including injuries to Aidan Hutchinson, Kyle Peko and more

These are the injuries I picked up on my initial watch. Unfortunately, there are two possible season-enders coming out of the Cowboys game.

Kyle Peko – left pec, 1q 7:55

Peko hurt his left pec during an attempted tackle. Pec tears can occur during an eccentric motion which occurred here when the runner broke away while Peko was trying to pull him in.

With how quickly Peko was ruled out, it hints there may have been a visible deformity of the pec on physical exam, which can signify a full pec tendon rupture and the likely end of his season. The best case scenario is a mild pec strain of the muscle body.

This is the third known pec strain/tear this year, along with Emmanuel Moseley and Frank Ragnow.

Penei Sewell – left leg, 2q 00:36

Video was obscured but he appeared to have his left leg rolled up on during David Montgomery’s TD run. It was a slow roll-up and didn’t look bad on video. He got up gingerly but didn’t miss any snaps.

Sewell was healthy enough to take a lateral to the house later in the game. Getting rolled up on can cause ankle or knee sprains but I’m not expecting anything significant here. We’ll see if he shows up on the Wednesday injury report.

Graham Glasgow – right shin cleated, 3q 13:18

Glasgow was visibly in pain after the play and was grabbing at his right shin. He didn’t miss a snap.

Close video review showed that he got cleated, leaving a mark on his shin which may have been a sock tear. Even if he has an underlying laceration, it’s no big deal and he’ll be fine.

Aidan Hutchinson – left tib/fib fracture, 3q 12:00

This is the big one. Early signs are good that he should make a full recovery in time for training camp with even an outside shot at the Super Bowl. With the Super Bowl less than 4 months away, Dan Campbell on Monday called Hutchinson’s timeline “4-6 months”.

Players will absolutely come back well before they are fully ready for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play in the Super Bowl. Terrell Owens in 2005 is a good example.

The bone will be completely healed so the risk will be minimal. But Hutchinson won’t have his usual strength, burst, or stamina, and won’t play his typical 90% of snaps. His effectiveness will be questionable, but if the team is willing to open up a roster spot for him, I would expect him to play. After that one game, he will have five months to recover.

See my full Hutchinson article for more details of his injury.

Carlton Davis – cleat to head, 3q 10:38

Davis had his helmet crunched and ripped off, and if that wasn’t enough, he took a wicked cleat to his bare head. Fortunately, it looks like he avoided any significant injury, although he didn’t return to the game.

He was seen hanging out on the sideline in good spirits the rest of the game which means he passed the concussion evaluation and there are no serious concerns. It looks like he avoided a laceration or any eye damage. I suspect he could have returned to the game if necessary, and I’m expecting him to be fine for next game.

OTHER NOTES

Frank Ragnow strained his left pec three weeks ago. He showed no signs of aggravating the injury in his first game back.

Kerby Joseph had a mild hamstring issue during the practice week but was able to play the whole game without obvious aggravation. Good news going forward.

Lions add DT Kyle Peko to the active roster in series of roster moves

Peko played over 30 snaps in Detroit’s Week 1 win as a practice squad promotion

Welcome to the active 53-man Detroit Lions roster, Kyle Peko.

The veteran defensive tackle was signed to the Lions roster from the team’s practice squad ahead of Wednesday’s practice session. Peko replaces fellow DT Chris Smith on the roster. Smith was waived earlier this week and is now back on the practice squad.

Peko played 37 snaps in Detroit’s Week 1 win over the Rams, recording one tackle as a practice squad promotion.

The move to swap Peko and Smith in Week 2 was almost certainly a salary cap maneuver designed to keep Peko’s veteran contract form being fully guaranteed. All vested vets who are on the Week 1 active 53-man roster have their deals secured. By waiting a week, it saves the Lions some long-term money.

Detroit also made the practice squad signing of kicker Greg Joseph official. And with that, the Lions roster is once again at capacity.

Lions bolster the defensive line in surprising final Week 1 roster moves

Lions bolster the defensive line in surprising final Week 1 roster moves that also includes elevating a WR from the practice squad

The Detroit Lions fortified the defensive line a day ahead of Sunday night’s season opener in Ford Field. In a series of roster moves, the Lions added two defensive linemen and a wide receiver to the mix for the Week 1 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams.

The Lions signed defensive tackle Chris Smith from the practice squad to the active 53-man roster. Detroit had a vacant spot on the roster and filled it with Smith, an undrafted rookie in 2023 who played well this summer.

Signing Smith to the active roster wasn’t necessarily the expected move. Many thought it would be veteran DT Kyle Peko, who took most of the first-team reps in training camp with newcomer DJ Reader still sidelined. Peko was elevated from the practice squad for the Rams contest. Reader is questionable for Sunday night’s game.

The Lions also elevated wide receiver Tom Kennedy for the game. That’s also a bit of an unexpected turn at a positon where a practice squad move was widely anticipated. Vets Tim Patrick, Allen Robinson and Donovan Peoples-Jones all offer more size and outside ability at wideout, but Kennedy instead gets the nod.

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Lions place John Cominsky on I.R., add receiver to practice squad

Lions place DT John Cominsky on I.R., add receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones to the practice squad

As has been the expectation for weeks, the Detroit Lions have placed defensive lineman John Cominsky on the injured reserve list.

Cominsky tore a tendon in his knee during the early portion of training camp and is expected to miss most of the season. The Lions held off on placing Cominsky on I.R. until after roster cutdowns, not using one of the two designated-to-return spots ahead of this week’s roster cutdowns. Those went to DT Brodric Martin and CB Emmanuel Moseley.

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The Lions also officially added wideout Donovan Peoples-Jones to the practice squad, a move that was reported on Wednesday but didn’t happen until Thursday morning. Because Peoples-Jones is a vested veteran and the Lions already had the maximum of six vets on the practice squad, Detroit had to release safety CJ Moore from the practice squad to accommodate Peoples-Jones.

The Lions still have one open spot on the practice squad, and it cannot be used on a veteran. However, the team is expected to sign DT Kyle Peko to the active roster before Week 1 to fill the void left by Martin and Cominsky being on I.R.

Predicting the Detroit Lions initial practice squad

Predicting the Detroit Lions initial practice squad, which gets formed after 12 p.m. ET on Wednesday

One of the duties for the Detroit Lions and GM Brad Holmes is to assemble the team’s practice squad. Roster cutdowns to the initial 53-man roster left the Lions with only 52 players, so that complicates predicting who all makes Detroit’s initial practice squad.

The Lions are allowed up to 16 players on the practice squad. Six of those can be veterans with at least four years of experience, players who were not subject to waivers after the roster cutdowns.

We already know one of those six will be former Broncos WR Tim Patrick. At least four vets the Lions released on Tuesday make great candidates to return:

DT Kyle Peko

DL Pat O’Connor

LB Ty Summers

OT Jamarco Jones

That would leave one opening for a veteran who wasn’t with the Lions during the preseason. It could also be where QB Nate Sudfeld fits if the Lions want him back in the building, or another LB like Abraham Beauplan or Joel Iyiegbuniwe. I don’t see Donovan Peoples-Jones or Daurice Fountain returning, though the latter does have some potential to join the Lions practice squad.

Barring waiver claims from another team, which tend to pluck a little less than one player per team on average, here are the 10 younger players the Lions figure to focus on keeping on the practice squad:

OLB Mitchell Agude

WR/RS Maurice Alexander

OL Jake Burton

OL Kingsley Eguakun

QB Jake Fromm

RB Jermar Jefferson

WR Tom Kennedy

DL Chris Smith

EDGE Isaac Ukwu

TE Shane Zylstra

Fromm is an interesting one, because if the Lions bring Sudfeld back in any capacity, it makes no sense to also use a spot on Fromm. But the way head coach Dan Campbell talked about Fromm after his highly impressive preseason outing, the door appears open to keeping the younger QB with demonstrated better composure and accuracy.

The Lions also have a decision to make at running back. Jefferson, Zonovan Knight and Jake Funk all are worthy of keeping on the practice squad, but it’s difficult to see them keeping more than one. Jefferson gets the tentative nod based on his longevity.

Given all the tight ends waived around the league on Tuesday, I do expect Zylstra to clear waivers and return to Detroit. Cornerback Steven Gilmore could be back, too.

Lions losing John Cominsky is more impactful than people think

The Lions losing DL John Cominsky to injury is more impactful than people think, and Russell Brown explains why

During the Tuesday morning practice this week, the Detroit Lions had multiple players suffer injuries. Rookie CB Ennis Rakestraw suffered an apparent foot injury, and offensive guard Netane Muti went down with a left shoulder injury. Lastly, they lost defensive end John Cominsky for the season due to a torn MCL.

There’s some hope that Cominsky could return in 5 or 6 months. If all goes right this season, the Lions could be in a playoff push so the return of Cominsky could be very beneficial for this Lions defense. However, losing him for the season is going to be more impactful than people think.

Last year during the off-season, the Lions were faced with a decision of keeping Cominsky or letting him walk. During that time, I went over the pros and cons of bringing him back to Detroit. In that article, I mentioned Cominsky as being a “glue guy” for the team. Specifically for the defense.

The Lions have a young defensive front with Alim McNeill, Aidan Hutchinson, Levi Onwuzurike and others. With that, they needed a veteran to lead them and turn to when the going got tough and that player was Cominsky. In 2022, he played in 14 games and started 8 of those games. He had 44 total pressures and over 550 defensive snaps played that season.

Cominsky may not light up the stat sheet, but his versatility will be missed. He can play anywhere along the defensive line. For the most part, he looks best suited to play as a 4i-technique for Detroit, but he can bump into the inside shoulder of a guard when needed.

Move onto last season and it was still a strong showing for Cominsky. He was in the top 10 for defensive snaps with 569 snaps played. Replacing the way he plays on those snaps will be tough to do for the Lions defense.

https://x.com/RussNFLDraft/status/1725313226429084043

His play style fits the identity of the Dan Campbell led Lions. He’s got that tough mentality and is just a grinder in the trenches. His ability to take on blocks and fight pressure with pressure is very beneficial to how the Lions linebackers can play freely. It leaves those backers clean as they scrape over the top or attack downhill to stop the run.

Last season, Cominsky played in 16 games and he started 11 of those games. He finished the season with 36 tackles, 16 QB pressures and two sacks (per PlayerProfiler). We’ll see how the Lions replace Cominsky but I’d have to guess this opens the door players such as Mathieu Betts, Kyle Peko, Mekhi Wingo and Brodric Martin. Hopefully, the Lions depth on the defensive line can help fill the void.