The Detroit Lions lost cornerback Khalil Dorsey to an injury late in the second quarter Sunday afternoon against the Buffalo Bills at Ford Field in the biggest game in Week 15 of the 2024 NFL season.
Dorsey was on the field on third-and-goal and was in coverage near the line of scrimmage when he collided with linebacker Ezekiel Turner in coverage and instantly collapsed to the ground. The play continued, eventually ending in an incompletion, with Dorsey still on the ground waving toward the sidelines for immediate help.
Dorsey was immediately ruled out with an ankle injury, the team announced before halftime.
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Dorsey and the trainers stayed on the field, eventually waiting for the injury cart to come out to the 10-yard line. The whole Lions team and coaching staff came out onto the field as Dorsey was loaded onto the cart and taken into the field. He received a standing ovation as he left the field from Lions fans.
Dorsey was on the field to help fill in for cornerback Carlton Davis III, who left earlier in the second quarter with a head injury. Davis stayed down after helping tackle James Cook , and went off the field into the locker room. It was later announced Davis entered concussion protocol and suffered a jaw injury.
Dorsey has been one of the Lions' stars on special teams as a gunner on punt coverage and a fill-in kick returner to help fill the void of Kalif Raymond 's absence, who is on injured reserve with a foot injury. Kindle Vildor has also played at cornerback since Davis went down.
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The Lions had some positive momentum on the injury front coming into the game after fighting uphill for most of the season. They got back left tackle Taylor Decker and defensive linemen D.J. Reader, Josh Paschal, Alim McNeill and Levi Onwuzurike .
Decker had missed two games with a knee injury, while Reader, Onwuzurike and Paschal missed the win over the Green Bay Packers . McNeill left the Packers game early with a brain injury, but had enough time during the 10-day break to clear the NFL's concussion protocol.
Linebacker Trevor Nowaske was the Lions' only contributor inactive. He was placed on the injury list after Wednesday's practice with a brain injury. The Lions have over a dozen players on injured reserve, including starters Aidan Hutchinson , Alex Anzalone , Derrick Barnes and Kalif Raymond.
The Lions (12-1) entered the Week 15 game with 11 straight wins and in first place in the NFC with a playoff berth clinched. Buffalo (10-3) is a fellow Super Bowl contender and has already won the AFC East Division.
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Jared Ramsey is a sports reporter for the Detroit Free Press . Follow Jared on X @jared_ramsey22 , and email him at jramsey@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Khalil Dorsey injury update: Detroit Lions CB carted off vs. Bills
