The Detroit Lions entered their Week 8 bye on a strong note after a 24–9 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The defense, despite missing several key players in the secondary and dealing with Brian Branch’s suspension, rose to the challenge.
Before that matchup, with the bye week approaching, head coach Dan Campbell was asked about linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez, who appears close to returning from the torn ACL he sustained last Thanksgiving.
“Yeah, we’re hoping after the bye (to open Rodriguez’s 21-day return window), we can start getting him out there a bit,” Campbell said.
Rodriguez underwent an additional procedure during the offseason to remove scar tissue from his injured right knee. The clean-up didn’t alter expectations that he’d be ready to return sometime in November, nearly a year post-injury, and Campbell’s update confirmed that timeline.
Malcolm Rodriguez eager to get back on the field
While the Lions’ banged-up secondary became the “Legion of Whom” against the Buccaneers, the linebacker group has quietly been one of the team’s biggest assets. Jack Campbell, Alex Anzalone, and Derrick Barnes are all performing at a high level (ranking No. 5, No. 23, and No. 33, respectively, among off-ball linebackers by overall Pro Football Focus grades entering Week 8).
Assuming no setbacks (knock on wood), Rodriguez is expected to return as a core special teams contributor once cleared. Still, he’s proven capable when called upon, having started 15 games as a rookie in 2022 and playing a key role in depth spots.
Before last year’s injury, with Barnes sidelined by a knee issue and Anzalone later suffering a broken arm, Rodriguez tallied 43 total tackles, two sacks, and logged 318 defensive snaps across 10 games (six starts).
The fourth-year linebacker said he’s been cleared for all activities except game action for over a month and is just waiting “for the perfect time to jump back in.”
“I’m ready,” Rodriguez told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “It’s one of those things where I want to get thrown into the fire and see what happens. I don’t want to ease in — I want to go all out.”
Each player’s recovery is handled differently (as seen with Alim McNeill), but Detroit generally takes a cautious approach with major injuries. So, it’s possible Rodriguez’s three-week activation window could run its full course, with limited snaps early on. But as expected, “Rodrigo” isn’t interested in any kind of slow reintroduction.
