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While the calamitous injuries on defense monopolized the headlines during the 2024 season, the Lions offense quietly had a very healthy year. All the offensive starters and most of the key reserves were available for the vast majority of the season. Critical players in Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Penei Sewell played all 18 games.
No. 10: Alex Anzalone's forearm
No. 9: Ifeatu Melifonwu's turbulent year
No. 8: Christian Mahogany's delayed debut
No. 7: James Houston's ill-fated comeback
No. 6: David Montgomery's mysterious knee
No. 5: Carlton Davis jaw fracture
All that good health allowed for fun, creative plays like these...
(In parentheses are the number of full games missed due to injury including playoffs.)
Lions fans were hit with a couple of Monday-morning, jump scares with Ragnow's pec tear and Montgomery's initially-diagnosed-as-season-ending knee. All's well that ends well though, as there were no serious season-enders and no long-term absences.
Even the short-term absences had minimal impact as there was healthy, quality depth. Jahmyr Gibbs excelled in Montgomery's absence. Dan Skipper performed admirably with Decker out. Christian Mahogany filled in nicely for both Glasgow and Zeitler.
An important takeaway is that it's hard to blame external factors on the defensive injuries when those same factors were present for the healthy offense. Both sides of the ball played on the same fields, trained under the same strength & conditioning staff, and were treated by the same medical team.
More than likely, luck is the reason for the stark difference in health between the offense and the defense. Having Lady Luck on your side may be more important than anything.
To this point, there have been no major injuries this offseason which continues the healthy, hot-streak for the offense.
Of minor concern is an unexpected, offseason knee "clean-up" surgery for Amon-Ra St. Brown who didn't miss a game all last year. A clean-up often means a meniscus cartilage trim and clearing out of loose bodies in the joint. If that's indeed what happened, the severity of any cartilage damage is extremely variable, and the impact is hard to predict. In the short-term, he is likely to be fine.
St. Brown was limited at voluntary OTA in June, but stated he should be ready for training camp. While there are no significant short-term concerns, his performance this season will be something to keep an eye on.
The good news going into the 2025 season is that all offensive starters and key reserves are expected to be healthy for training camp and the start of the season.
The bad news is that the immutable law of probabilities may result in some injury regression-to-the-mean in 2025. This cuts both ways though. While the offense likely won't be as blessed as last year, the defense likely won't be as cursed.
This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Top 10 Lions injury news of 2024 No. 4: The fortuitous offense
Continue reading...
No. 10: Alex Anzalone's forearm
No. 9: Ifeatu Melifonwu's turbulent year
No. 8: Christian Mahogany's delayed debut
No. 7: James Houston's ill-fated comeback
No. 6: David Montgomery's mysterious knee
No. 5: Carlton Davis jaw fracture
All that good health allowed for fun, creative plays like these...
MOST SIGNIFICANT INJURIES ON OFFENSE - click links for video
(In parentheses are the number of full games missed due to injury including playoffs.)
David Montgomery, RB (3) - Right MCL
Taylor Decker, OT (3) - Pec strain, rotator cuff, right MCL/ankle
Kalif Raymond, WR (5) - Left foot
Frank Ragnow, C (1) - Left pec strain
Graham Glasgow, OG (1) - Unspecified knee
Sam LaPorta, TE (1) - Left AC joint
Kevin Zeitler, OG (1) - Right hamstring
IMPACT ON SEASON
Lions fans were hit with a couple of Monday-morning, jump scares with Ragnow's pec tear and Montgomery's initially-diagnosed-as-season-ending knee. All's well that ends well though, as there were no serious season-enders and no long-term absences.
Even the short-term absences had minimal impact as there was healthy, quality depth. Jahmyr Gibbs excelled in Montgomery's absence. Dan Skipper performed admirably with Decker out. Christian Mahogany filled in nicely for both Glasgow and Zeitler.
WHAT SHOULD WE MAKE OF THE OFFENSE'S GOOD FORTUNE?
An important takeaway is that it's hard to blame external factors on the defensive injuries when those same factors were present for the healthy offense. Both sides of the ball played on the same fields, trained under the same strength & conditioning staff, and were treated by the same medical team.
More than likely, luck is the reason for the stark difference in health between the offense and the defense. Having Lady Luck on your side may be more important than anything.
ANY OFFSEASON INJURY CONCERNS?
To this point, there have been no major injuries this offseason which continues the healthy, hot-streak for the offense.
Of minor concern is an unexpected, offseason knee "clean-up" surgery for Amon-Ra St. Brown who didn't miss a game all last year. A clean-up often means a meniscus cartilage trim and clearing out of loose bodies in the joint. If that's indeed what happened, the severity of any cartilage damage is extremely variable, and the impact is hard to predict. In the short-term, he is likely to be fine.
St. Brown was limited at voluntary OTA in June, but stated he should be ready for training camp. While there are no significant short-term concerns, his performance this season will be something to keep an eye on.
OUTLOOK
The good news going into the 2025 season is that all offensive starters and key reserves are expected to be healthy for training camp and the start of the season.
The bad news is that the immutable law of probabilities may result in some injury regression-to-the-mean in 2025. This cuts both ways though. While the offense likely won't be as blessed as last year, the defense likely won't be as cursed.
This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Top 10 Lions injury news of 2024 No. 4: The fortuitous offense
Continue reading...
