Unfortunately, the bad injury news keeps coming for the Detroit Lions. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Lions running back Zonovan Knight’s latest injury is season-ending.
Knight suffered a shoulder injury in the second half of Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers. After taking a short reception, Knight ran down the left sideline and lowered his shoulder for a violent collision. When he got up, he was holding his left arm and appeared to be in a lot of pain.
On Sunday night, Knight tweeted, “Watch how God turns this setback into something real special.”
The injury has left the Lions running back position quite short-handed this week. With rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs still working his way through a hamstring injury, Detroit’s only healthy backs on the 53-man roster are David Montgomery and Craig Reynolds. That could very likely mean that Devine Ozigbo gets a call-up from the practice squad this week.
That said, Montgomery has been one of Detroit’s best offensive players through five weeks, and he’s coming off back-to-back 100-yard games. This week, coach Dan Campbell explained how Montgomery is built to be this team’s workhorse back.
“You always want a guy who he can, if you need it, he can take on 20, 25, 30 carries,” Campbell said. “And he has been all of that and then some. He is a workhorse and he is dependable, he is tough, he is quick, he’s explosive and he’s a finisher, so I’m glad we got him.”
Reynolds, too, proved he can carry the rock last in Sunday’s game against the Panthers. He carried the ball seven times for 52 yards and his first NFL touchdown.
The Lions have yet to place Knight on injured reserve but expect both him and cornerback Emmanuel Moseley (who tore his ACL on Sunday) to be placed on the injury list on Saturday, creating two open spots on the 53-man roster.
Knight is on a one-year contract in Detroit, but the Lions hold the ability to tender him as an exclusive rights free agent following the season, which seems like a realistic possibility, meaning he may be able to return to the team next season.
