Jimmy Rolder will miss time with the leg injury he suffered in training camp Friday, July 31, but Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard said the injury isn't so severe it will prevent the rookie
linebacker from contributing this fall.
"Oh, absolutely," Sheppard said before camp Sunday, Aug. 2. "As far as the mental and all that, he’ll still be engaged in meetings and all that with us, so I absolutely see him contributing at some point."
Rolder left midway through Friday's practice with a leg injury, and the Lions signed former Pro Bowl linebacker Devin White on Saturday.
The Lions have not put a timetable on Rolder's return, but Sheppard said White improves "the competitive depth situation" the team has at the linebacker position "with his championship pedigree."
"It just backs up everything [Lions coach] Dan [Campbell] spoke of this offseason, that we are going to find the best 90 to come in here and compete," Sheppard said. "It’s all about competition. We have the chance to acquire somebody that we feel like can come in, whether that's push to start or push guys in the room to make them [know] the urgency’s real this year, it’s not just lip service, and that’s what we did."
White, 28, had a career-high 174 tackles in his first season with the Las Vegas Raiders last season but is best known for his play with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense in 2019-23. White was a second-team All-Pro selection in 2020 and earned his only Pro Bowl selection the next year.
He spent the 2024 season with the Houston Texans.
A fourth-round pick out of Michigan, Rolder played mostly middle linebacker with the second-team defense this spring and through the first three days of training camp.
He was expected to contribute on special teams and push for a rotational role as a backup this fall, where the Lions are still looking to solidify the No. 3 linebacker spot next to Jack Campbell and Derrick Barnes.
Malcolm Rodriguez has taken first-team reps at weakside linebacker throughout camp, but Sheppard said Rolder has been on an upward trajectory since spring.
"Came in, in the spring like anybody, a veteran linebacker we acquired, where we’ve took this system now with the adjustments, the checks, the things like that, especially at the linebacker position − it’s a lot," Sheppard said. "So he came in, in the spring he’s like, ‘Whoa,’ kind of. But as soon as he showed up Day 1, you saw two things: He put work in this summer, he applied himself, and then he’s trusting the coaching.
"What [we're] asking him to do’s a tick different then the things he did at Michigan, and he’s met that challenge. And I’ll tell you, that kid was getting better every day, each and every day. Hopefully, we have a tremendous athletic training room staff in there and they’ll try to get him back to speed as far as return to play as soon as possible."
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: Lions DC: Injury won't keep rookie LB Jimmy Rolder from contributing
