Detroit Lions rookie defensive end Ahmed Hassanein will miss significant time this year, perhaps his entire rookie season. Lions coach Dan Campbell offered the following update on Hassanein during his Monday press conference.
“Ahmed is going to be down for a while,” Campbell said. “He’s got a pec.”
When asked if Hassanein’s injury is season-ending, Campbell could not commit to an answer.
“That’s a good question. I don’t have that answer yet,” Campbell said.
Hassanein suffered his injury in the third
quarter of the Lions’ preseason game against the Miami Dolphins. On the play, Hassanein was slammed into the ground by Miami tackle Ryan Hayes, who locked arms with Hassanein and tugged him into the turf. Immediately, Hassanein grabbed his pectoral area, and after about a minute down on the ground, trainers escorted him off the field while supporting his arm. Hassanein went straight to the locker room and did not return to the field.
Hassanein has been having an encouraging rookie training camp and preseason. Drafted in the sixth round, Hassanein was seen as a developmental talent. He moved to the United States in 2018 after being raised in Egypt. He hadn’t played a lick of football before moving to California, but he quickly was drawn to the game, and his physical talent had him dominating early in high school. He parlayed that into a successful career at Boise State, amassing 22.0 sacks in his last two college seasons.
The Lions now face an interesting decision with Hassanein. If the Lions believe his injury will last a significant amount of time, but won’t threaten his season, they could place him on injured reserve at the cutdown date, and he won’t count against the 53-man roster but is eligible to return after four games, minimum. If they believe he can return before then, they could keep him on the 53-man roster. But if they believe his season is likely over, the Lions may opt to place him on IR right now, which would end his rookie season.
As of right now, the Lions are holding on a decision.
“With where we’re at right now, we’re going to hang tight,” Campbell said.
If the Lions opt with one of the IR options, it would open up opportunities for players like Nate Lynn, Isaac Ukwu, and Mitchell Agude. After Saturday’s preseason game, Campbell praised Lynn’s performance this preseason.
“It’s kind of rookie season part two, so to see him kind of take another step here and grow and get a little bit better, it is good,” Campbell said. “Like I said, he’s having a pretty good camp.”
Whatever decision the Lions make with Hassanein and the rest of the defensive line, they’ll have to make it soon. The deadline to create an initial 53-man roster is next Tuesday, August 26, at 4 p.m. ET.
