The Detroit Lions’ 2026 NFL Draft class has already been hit with two significant injuries. Back in the spring, fifth-round pick Kendrick Law suffered a season-ending ACL injury. And on Friday, fourth-round pick Jimmy Rolder left a training camp practice early with a leg injury. According to a report from Justin Rogers, Rolder is expected to be out “for a while.” As a response, the Lions opted to sign veteran Devin White to help Detroit’s linebacker room.
It’s a tough break for Rolder, as he had a promising starting to training camp. While he wasn’t likely to be a prominent feature on Detroit’s defense in his rookie season, the former Michigan linebacker was in line for a significant role on special teams.
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Back in the spring, Lions coaches were optimistic about how Rolder was progressing in the early stages of his NFL career.
“Still has a lot of room for growth, but I’m pretty good with where he is now,” Lions linebacker coach Shaun Dion Hamilton said in June. “I just continue to challenge him day in and day out, where it’s always a learning curve for rookies coming from college football to the pros, but I’m excited to work with him and it’s gonna be a lot of meat on the bone and a lot of things that he can grow (from) coming into training camp.”
Unfortunately, it appears Rolder’s development will have to be on hold.
At this point, it’s unclear just how long “a while” is, but Detroit cannot place him on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list now that training camp has started. If the Lions opt to place him on injured reserve now, his rookie season will be over. But Detroit could opt to carry him to roster cutdowns, then place him on IR, and he would only have to miss a four-game minimum.
We’ll likely get more clarity on Rolder’s issue the next time Dan Campbell is scheduled to talk to the media, which is Monday morning.
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