ORCHARD PARK, NY – The Detroit Lions' problems at safety are in danger of multiplying again.
Lions safety Avonte Maddox suffered a left foot injury in the first half of Thursday's 41-31 loss to the Buffalo Bills that had him on crutches after the game.
Lions coach Dan Campbell said he won't know the extent of Maddox's injury until Maddox undergoes more testing Friday, Sept. 18.
"Maddox is pretty tough and so when he doesn’t come back that makes me nervous," Campbell said. "But I won’t know until tomorrow for sure."
The Lions already are down their top two safeties with Brian Branch (Achilles) and Kerby Joseph (knee) on the physically unable to perform list and out at least another two weeks.
Maddox and Chuck Clark have started both games at safety
in their place, and the two collided in the end zone on the play Maddox was injured on early in the second quarter.
Clark said he turned to hit the receiver Maddox was covering on the play "and I think when I hit his guy then I hit him, it looked like what it was, and that might have made him step wrong."
Maddox walked gingerly off the field under his own power and was carted to the locker room.
“I went in there, I told him when he was coming of the field 'I’m so sorry,'" Clark said. "I seen it on the film and I’m just like, 'Damn, I’m sorry.' Then I came in here after the game, trying to talk to him and I’m just like, 'My bad, bro, I’m so sorry.' And like I say, it’s a violent game, things happen, friendly fire, but I hate that, that happened how that happened. And I don’t know the extent, but it just, if a guy can’t finish a game, I definitely hated that for him.
The Lions used four safeties Thursday – Maddox, Clark, Thomas Harper and Christian Izien – and had communication issues in their secondary that contributed to a big day by the Bills offense and quarterback Josh Allen.
Allen completed 20 of 31 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns and the Bills never trailed in the blowout victory.
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 'nervous' about Detroit Lions' latest injury at safety
