Detroit Lions Mailbag: Could the Lions go shopping for an offensive lineman at the deadline and what we know about Ahmed Hassanein’s return
Could the Lions get Hassanein back earlier than expected?
The Detroit Lions have played two games this year, and both were wildly different. That’s got everyone wondering who the real Lions are. It’s also prompted a lot of Lions fans to ask questions. Let’s answer some of them.
How does the Marcus Davenport injury affect the Lions’ depth on the edge?
The first thing to consider is that we don’t know what Davenport’s injury is or how long it will affect him. We talked to him after Sunday’s game, and he seemed fine. He, at the least, did not seem like a player who was about to miss the rest of the season or something like that. We’ll see at the end of the week, according to Lions head coach Dan Campbell.
As for the depth part, we’ve seen Al-Quadin Muhammad look pretty good this season. He can step in and start in place of Davenport if he’s out. Beyond that, there’s Tyrus Wheat, who hasn’t been seen yet, and then there’s Keith Cooper and Andre Carter on the practice squad. So there’s depth, but we don’t know how good that depth is yet because we haven’t seen it in a game.
Are the Packers really this good? Are the Bears really this bad?
That’s the thing. We don’t know who is good or who is bad at this point. It’s so early in the season, and teams haven’t settled fully yet. We probably won’t be able to answer those questions until October. I mean, last year, the Chiefs were 0-2 at this time, and the Eagles were 1-1, coming off a loss to a Falcons team that missed the playoffs. Everyone was sure the Saints were good after they scored 40-plus points in their first two games and started 2-0. They won just three more games.
That’s why it was crazy when people reacted the way they did about Week 1. To answer your question, perhaps. The Packers look good so far, and the Bears look really bad. I want to see a few more games.
What is the path to improvement for Terrion Arnold?
I’ve recently been vocal about my concerns with Arnold, and I‘ve also been vocal about how I may have overblown those concerns a bit. The numbers tell you one thing, and the film tells you another.
The numbers show he’s been targeted a lot and allowed a lot of catches. The film shows you that Arnold has actually been pretty sticky in coverage, and when he does allow a catch, he’s Johnny on the spot with the tackle. To add to that, there were three instances in Sunday’s game where he could have had an interception. So he’s putting himself in the right spot.
So the answer is just more time on task and learning on the job. Growth is happening, and the more he plays and the more things he sees out there, the better understanding he’ll have of how to diagnose things and play them.
Could the Lions be looking for an offensive lineman at the trade deadline?
I wouldn’t be shocked if the Lions continued to bring guys in to help out or see what they can do with all the injuries they’re dealing with at tackle, but it’s hard to see them going shopping for an offensive lineman at the deadline. Things looked a lot better on Sunday, and that was all a benefit of simplifying the way the line operates, rather than trying to overcomplicate it, as they did against the Packers.
In general, I can’t answer that other than to say it’s hard to see any team wanting to trade a good offensive lineman. It’s hard to build for success in the trenches, so when you do, you have to hold onto those guys.
When will Ahmed Hassanein be back?
Currently, we are unsure. A timeline hasn’t been provided, and we do not know the severity of the pectoral injury. What we do know is that players have returned from these injuries in the same year they occurred. A good example is C.J. Gardner-Johnson. He tore his in Week 2 and then came back in Week 15. Not saying that these are the same thing, just an example.
The other thing is that Lions GM Brad Holmes stated in his preseason press conference that Hassanein will return this season, possibly sooner rather than later, but the Lions must mind league rules.
“Yeah, so it’s a good question. So yeah, there’s multiple avenues that we could have went with that one. What we wanted to do is what is going to be the best path for him to get him back to the practice field when he’s healthy, and the injury settlement was the way to go. Especially him specifically with where he was at in his football career.” Holmes said on waiving Hassaninen with an injury settlement.
“The only thing that’s like – so after you do the injury settlement in terms of the length of the settlement with the weeks you have to tack on, additional three weeks you have to wait until we can bring him back. There’s a good chance that he might get healthy before then, within those weeks. But, bottom line, he’s going to be a Detroit Lion, he’s going to be back on the football field playing this year.”
Are the Lions struggling against the run?
Through a couple weeks, teams seem to be gashing us for a few good runs each game. We don't have any weak links in our personnel, where is the breakdown occurring? Or am I overreacting?
— hermaphro.bsky.social (@hermaphro.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 10:49 PM
There’s some overreacting here. Yeah, there’s been some big runs, but that comes with the territory. It’s hard to stop every run from happening, and it’s hard to stop every explosive.
Even last year, when the Lions were the second-best team against the run, they still allowed some explosives on the ground. We’ll see how sharp it can be going forward, but don’t be shocked if Derrick Henry gives them trouble. He just kind of does that to everyone.
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