Devastating Ahmed Hassanein news should make some of the Lions’ hard choices a little easier to make

This horribly timed injury does have one posiitive to it

Mike Payton — Detroit Lions Beat Writer
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The Detroit Lions lost their preseason game to the Miami Dolphins, but the bigger loss comes from the news that they’ll be without sixth-round pick Ahmed Hassanein for what looks like a long time. Hassanein was generating a lot of excitement, and he looked like a player who could get some nice run in the rotation in his rookie season. But he has a pectoral injury, and Lions coach Dan Campbell could not say if he would be back this season.

You hate to see it because he’s been a joy to talk to and be around at training camp, and you could actually see him learning more and more each day and then applying what he’s learned. You could see a pathway for him to get significant snaps by the end of the season. That might not happen now.

While devastating, this injury does open the door for the Lions to make some easier decisions regarding the edge rusher spot. All summer long, the biggest battle we’ve seen other than the backup quarterback battle is the one for a rotational edge rusher between Nate Lynn, Isaac Ukwu, and Keith Cooper Jr. The Lions now have a pathway to possibly keep all three.

Ukwu and Lynn have shown up big in the preseason and during joint practices with the Dolphins; both got opportunities with the first team. Now the Lions don’t have to choose between the two. They can go with both and see if either can make an impact during the regular season. Of course, if the Lions do bring back Za’Darius Smith, someone has to go.

On the Cooper front, he can play the big end role, but he’s also been used a lot on the interior of the defensive line. He’s had some big moments this summer, and he’s shown that he should get the gig over Brodric Martin, but Myles Adams, who plays that same type of role, is also looking good this summer and was brought up unprompted by Campbell in Saturday’s post-game presser.

There’s one week of camp left, and that includes a joint practice and another preseason game. We’ll see who stands out, and then next Tuesday, we’ll know who gets the jobs. Don’t be shocked if it’s all three now.

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