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Dan Campbell: Levi Onwuzurike injury 'crept up' on Lions after NFL free agency
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- Dan Campbell: Levi Onwuzurike injury 'crept up' on Lions after NFL free agency
Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell provided more details about the knee injury that will sideline Levi Onwuzurike for the entire 2025 season , saying the team did not know Onwuzurike needed surgery after re-signing the fifth-year defensive tackle in free agency.
"I would say this is something that crept up," Campbell said before Day 2 of Lions training camp. "Once the season's done, it's kind of the normal aches and pains, things that go on after a season. Levi's been through a lot, but then probably call it a month after he signed, month and a half, somewhere in there, knee's bothering him, we keep working through it and it's not getting any better and so just needed to get this done."
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Onwuzurike underwent ACL surgery this spring, Campbell said this week, and will miss the entire 2025 season.
READ MORE: Lions know exactly what this season means: 'The year of the reckoning'
Defensive end Levi Onwuzurike practices during minicamp at Detroit Lions headquarters and practice facility in Allen Park on Tuesday, June 4, 2024.
A second-round pick out of Washington in 2021, Onwuzurike has battled injuries throughout his career. He played through back problems as a rookie and missed all the 2022 season after undergoing spinal fusion surgery. He returned to play 10 games in 2023, then made a career-high 10 starts, appeared in 16 games and was a key part of the defensive line rotation last fall.
Onwuzurike signed a one-year, $3.5 million contract to stay with the Lions in March after encountering tepid interest in free agency. He was expected to open the season as a starter with Alim McNeill still recovering from the torn ACL he suffered last December.
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The Lions placed Onwuzurike on the reserve/physically unable to perform list at the start of camp. Campbell said he will not return for the playoffs.
"We hate it for Levi," Campbell said. "I mean, this is — it's not his fault and it's just another one of those things but I can tell you what, his mindset is right. He's all about getting it right, improving himself. It's not easy when you got to rehab year after year after year."
Lions practice update: D.J. Reed sits, Sione Vaki leaves
D.J. Reed did not practice Monday, joining Alex Anzalone , Ennis Rakestraw (chest) and Al-Quadin Muhammad among the non-PUP players the sidelines. Campbell said Anzalone, who stayed away from the team this offseason in a contract dispute , is out with a hamstring injury after acing his conditioning test.
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Running back Sione Vaki also left early in practice Monday and was being evaluated for a leg injury, the team said. Defensive tackle Roy Lopez pulled out of team drills later in practice and spent time with trainers but did not immediately leave the field with an undisclosed injury.
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com . Follow him on Bluesky , X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Dan Campbell: Levi Onwuzurike injury 'crept up' on Lions after signing
