Things Are Getting UGLY... | Detroit Lions News

Well, with what transpired against the Minnesota Vikings this past weekend, things are starting to get a little bit ugly now in Detroit. Even though they made some signings during the week, there are massive concerns going forward, not only heading into the Miami game this Sunday, but going forward the rest of the regular season. We're going to dive into all of that, the ramifications, and a whole lot more on this edition of Lions Digest. Hey, everybody, yours truly, Captain Lou here. Want to take a moment to welcome those of you that are checking us out for the first time here to the program. And if you haven't done it yet, I invite you to hit that subscribe button. It's free. Come along with us and the Lions in the second half of 2026. Be a part of all the conversation, all the live reaction, that and a whole lot more on Lions Digest. Well, we all saw what happened in the Lions game against the Vikings this past Sunday. They got the victory, but boy, did it come at a tremendous cost. First, they lost Jack Campbell to a horrific injury. And also now, they have lost Jimmy Rolde, what it looks like is going to be for the rest of the season. Dan Campbell addressed it earlier in the week, saying that he's probably going to require surgery. And that's going to mean he's going to be done for the rest of the regular season. So with that being said, the Lions went out and made some signings. But I don't know if it's going to be enough. I think things are getting a little bit ugly, and it's cause for major concern. Now, the Lions went out, as I mentioned. They signed KJ Britt off the New England practice squad and onto the 53-man roster automatically. Joe Bachig gets promoted to the 53-man roster, and they signed Owen Papo to the practice squad. Let's take a look at KJ Britt. He's had one tackle in the regular season. For the New England Patriots. And he's been off and on practice squads. He does have experience with Tampa Bay. I get it. But what I think is going to happen with KJ Britt, and I agree with this assessment, he's going to more take place of, he's going to take the place of Jimmy Rolde. He's going to be more of a special teams person, if you will. He's got extensive special teams experience. And, you know, with Roller contributing as much as he did there, I think that's more what we're going to be able to count on with KJ Britt. His effectiveness during the regular season, or the regular game rather, that's going to be the huge question mark. And Joe Bachig, do you think he can step in and take the place of Jack Campbell? I don't think so. That means that they're going to have to count on who they've already got to step up their game. I don't know why. Nowoski's going to have to play a bigger role. And Rodrigo is going to have to step up. Derek Barnes, can they do it? I'm very, very concerned about that. Now, Campbell's production, let's take a look at it. 57 tackles in the regular season, 29 solo tackles. Now. Against the pass was not a strong suit, but against the run, Jack Campbell, I think he excelled there much, much more. So this thin linebacker core against the pass scares the heck out of me going forward, especially when they start playing some of the more talented teams like New England and like Chicago. But you can't even take lightly Malik Willis against Miami this coming Sunday. Now, another controversy could start to be. Making things ugly again, too, here in Detroit, and that concerns Cade Mays. He started the last couple of games, but he re-injured his ankle against the Minnesota Vikings and didn't finish the game. Juice Scruggs came in, and all of a sudden in the fourth quarter, with the playbook changing a little bit, Drew Petzing going to the run, and you saw how those holes were open in the center of the line, led by Juice Scruggs. One wonders, should Scruggs be starting still the rest of the regular season, even if Cade Mays comes back healthy? Now, I'm going to ask you, what do you think? The center debate's going to start. I'm going to ask you right now, who should start at center if Mays is unavailable? Well, Juice Scruggs, obviously. But the question that I ask you, too, is, even if Mays is healthy, what do you do with Juice Scruggs? You put him back in. I know that's why Detroit signed Scruggs, or Mays. They wanted him to be the starting center. Center, rather, but Juice Scruggs has played adequately, more than adequately, for the Lions when he's been called on. So, again, this could cause a little bit of controversy and make things a little bit ugly. All right, we got some decent news yesterday on Jack Campbell. Now, he addressed the public himself, releasing a statement saying that he's got movement in his lower extremities and they're working on the strength in his upper extremities. All great news. Jack's deal definitely better. It was scary, though. Jared Goff, he's absolutely right, quoting him from earlier in the week. And also, here's some other quotes from Dan Campbell. It was good news. It was positive. I agree. And so, also, Jack says, I know there's still a lot of work ahead. But he's very optimistic. He's taking things one day at a time, staying positive, and focusing on getting better. So that's great news on the Jack Campbell front. Very excited to see that. Although it was a very horrific injury, our thoughts and prayers still with him and his family. The first and foremost thing is I want to make sure that he has a good quality of life going forward. Football, in that case, is secondary. The game against Miami is coming up this Sunday, right? And one player that is still having a great year is Amon Ross St. Brown. And I think he's got an excellent opportunity to up his stats this weekend. That's why I'm going to trade yes, that he's going to get 80 plus yards receiving with our brand new partner here to the program, and that's Cal Sheep. Now, again, with Cal Sheep, you're going up against other users, your peers, not the traditional sports books. You're buying yes or no contracts. On the outcomes of sporting events across and also politics, even the weather. Now, in this instance, like I said, I think he's going to get 80 plus yards and it's trading right now at about 48%, which means 48% of the folks are saying he's going to get over 80 yards. So if you trade $25, you're going to get $50 and 40 cents or $49 and 80 cents rather back on that $25 trade. Why $25 do you ask? Well, it's that simple. If you're interested in trying out CalShoot, make sure you use the link in the description below. And then use the promo code DIGESTNFL. You trade your first $25, you'll get $55 back into your account instantly. All right, let's take a look at the... Injury update for the Lions heading into late in the week. You can see it right there. On Wednesday, Cade Mays did not practice with his ankle. DJ Reed did not practice with his hip. DJ Woonham with that concussion off the hit from Brian Branch, who's also in concussion protocol, although he was limited. Woonham didn't practice. Kirby Joseph limited practice with his knee, not thinking he's going to get activated against Miami, but you never know. Jacob Saylors with his neck, limited practice. And Amon-Ra St. Brown, a little bit of a rib ailment perhaps. He was limited practice time, but I think he'll be good to go by the end of the week. So again, all these concerns topped off with what's going on with the linebacker situation. Things getting a little bit scary for the Lions. A little bit ugly, as I said in the beginning, as we head into that Miami game. All right, let's take a look real quick at the standings here in the NFC North. Why we are the best division in all of the NFL. You've got Minnesota at 6-1, Chicago at 6-2, Detroit at 5-2 in third place, Green Bay at 5-3. That's why all these games are so important for the Lions to keep pace, not only with the Vikings, but with Chicago, who looked so darn good against Seattle the other night on the road. That game with them and the Bears on Thanksgiving is going to be absolutely just One heck of a matchup. All right, that's going to do it for this edition here of Lions Digest. I want to remind everybody again that don't forget tonight, Thursday, 7 o'clock Eastern time, we've got our next live preview show. And we're going to talk about the Lions and the Dolphins, the matchup analysis. We're going to give our predictions, updates, and of course, all your reactions as well. So join us Thursday night live, seven o'clock right here on Lions Digest for the latest and the analysis live of the Lions and Dolphins matchup. Hey, everybody. I want to take this quick moment to thank you all that have subscribed to our channel. We're over 1,500 subscribers. And for that, I say thank you very much. The response has been off the charts, the viewership. That's because you are one of the most passionate fan bases in all of professional sports, not just in the NFL. And again, I say thank you. All right, until next time, Captain Lou saying keep your heads up, keep your sticks down, keep your feet moving, and as always, keep your minds open. So long.