Lions' Derrick Barnes: Sticking around in Motor City
Rotowire
Detroit signed Barnes (knee) to a three-year, $25.5 million extension Friday, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports.
Barnes only played in three games in the 2024 season due to suffering damage to his MCL and PCL in Week 3 at Arizona, and the Lions' defense seemed to feel the impact of his absence the rest of the way. He projects as one of Detroit's starting linebackers in 2025.
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Lions' Derrick Barnes: Unlikely to return this season
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Head coach Dan Campbell said Monday that the team will be fortunate to get Barnes (knee) back at any point this season, Colton Pouncy of The Athletic reports.
Barnes was placed on injured reserve Sept. 24 after suffering the knee injury in Week 3 against the Cardinals. Although the details of his injury are not known, it has been mentioned previously by Campbell that Barnes would miss a significant amount of time.
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Lions' Derrick Barnes: Out for foreseeable future
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Lions head coach Dan Campbell said Monday that Barnes (knee) will miss "a significant amount of time," Tim Twentyman of the Lions' official site reports.
Barnes was carted off during the second quarter of Sunday's 20-13 win over the Cardinals with a knee injury. Though Campbell didn't go into details regarding the nature of Barnes' knee injury while the Lions await a second opinion, the 25-year-old linebacker is expected to be placed on injured reserve, per Nolan Bianchi of The Detroit News. Barnes recorded 10 tackles and one pass breakup through the Lions' first three games.
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Lions' Derrick Barnes: Carted off with knee injury
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Barnes exited Sunday's game against the Cardinals with a knee injury and is questionable to return, Eric Woodyard of ESPN.com reports.
Barnes had to be carted to the locker room in the second quarter. Prior to leaving, Barnes recorded one tackle (one solo). Starting LB Alex Anzalone (concussion) is already inactive for Week 3. Ben Niemann and Jalen Reeves-Maybin will be next up for snaps at linebacker for Detroit.
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Lions' Derrick Barnes: Participating in OTAs
Rotowire
Barnes (knee) participated in the Lions' OTA session Tuesday.
Barnes was injured on the first defensive series of the Lions' NFC Championship Game loss to the 49ers and never returned, but the knee issue clearly wasn't overly serious. He started 13 of the 16 games he appeared in last season, finishing with a career-best 81 tackles (42 solo), one sack and one forced fumble on a career-high 705 defensive snaps.
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Lions' Derrick Barnes: Leaves game with knee injury
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Barnes (knee) is questionable to return to Sunday's NFC Championship Game against the 49ers.
Barnes sustained the knee injury on the 49ers' first drive of the game. While he's sidelined, James Houston and Jalen Reeves-Maybin are candidates to see more snaps at outside linebacker alongside starter Jack Campbell.
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Lions' Derrick Barnes: Whiffs with chance at safety
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Barnes recorded five tackles (three solo) in Saturday's 20-19 loss at Dallas.
Barnes looked like he was more or less back to his old self in his return from his shoulder injury, racking up tackles at a rate similar to what he had the rest of the season up to Week 17. However, he'll probably remember Saturday's game for a tackle he didn't make, when he came in unblocked on a blitz and missed a clear shot at Dak Prescott in the Cowboys' end zone. Barnes' missed opportunity for a safety turned into a 92-yard catch and run for CeeDee Lamb, which was arguably the difference in a one-point loss. Detroit hosts the Vikings in Week 18.
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Lions' Derrick Barnes: Estimated as full participant
Rotowire
Barnes (shoulder) was listed as a full participant on the Lions' practice estimate Tuesday, Eric Woodyard of ESPN.com reports.
The estimation signals Barnes is probably on track to play in Week 17 at Dallas. If he is available, he projects to start at linebacker next to Alex Anzalone and Jack Campbell on Saturday.
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Lions' Derrick Barnes: Inactive as expected
Rotowire
Barnes (shoulder) is inactive ahead of Sunday's game against the Vikings.
Barnes suffered a shoulder injury in the Lions' Week 15 win over the Broncos, and he was listed as doubtful after a week of limited practice sessions, so it's no surprise that he'll miss the team's Christmas Eve divisional contest. Jalen Reeves-Maybin is expected to see more work in Detroit's linebacker corps with Barnes missing time.
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Lions' Derrick Barnes: Opens week with limited practice
Rotowire
Barnes (shoulder) was a limited participant in Wednesday's practice.
Barnes injured his shoulder in the second quarter of Saturday's win over Denver but was able to return after halftime. That and his ability to practice Wednesday (albeit in limited fashion) are good signs that he'll be able to suit up Sunday versus the Vikings. Barnes has already set career highs with 577 defensive snaps and 71 tackles through 14 games this season. He's added one sack and one forced fumble.
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Lions' Derrick Barnes: Dodges injury report
Rotowire
Barnes (lower body) was not listed on Detroit's injury report Wednesday.
Barnes was forced out of Thursday's game at Green Bay with cramps, but he now appears to be back to full strength for Week 5. He'll resume his starting role at linebacker next to Alex Anzalone and Jack Campbell.
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Lions' Derrick Barnes: Exits game early
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Barnes (lower body) is questionable to return to the Lions' contest with the Packers on Thursday night, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports.
Barnes is dealing with some lower-body cramps and may not be able to re-enter the game. In his absence, Anthony Pittman will likely see an increase in workload.
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Lions' Derrick Barnes: Ties for team lead in tackles
Rotowire
Barnes logged six tackles with one TFL during Thursday's 21-20 win over the Chiefs.
Barnes drew the start at linebacker next to Alex Anzalone, and he ended up tying his counterpart for the team lead in tackles despite seeing about half of the defensive snaps. However, Barnes averaged just 4.3 tackles per game while operating in a similar role down the stretch last season, and he figures to see less playing time as the campaign unfolds given the presence of first-round draft pick Jack Campbell.
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Lions' Derrick Barnes: Good to go
Rotowire
Barnes (knee) has been cleared to play in Saturday's game versus the Panthers.
Barnes has been sidelined for the Lions' previous two games while nursing a knee injury. However, he logged limited workloads at practice all this week and appears to be ready to return to his usual role, assuming he avoids any setbacks.
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Lions' Derrick Barnes: Seven stops in massive win
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Barnes recorded seven tackles (six solo) during Sunday's 31-18 victory versus the Giants.
Barnes logged his third-best tackling performance of the season as the Lions rolled over the Giants in Week 11. While the linebacker did the majority of his work on defense (36 snaps), he also added one solo tackle over his 14 special-teams snaps. After playing just 88 defensive snaps and totaling 13 tackles over the first seven weeks of the season, Barnes has totaled 21 tackles while playing 119 of his 137 snaps on defense over the past three weeks.
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Lions' Derrick Barnes: Leads big defensive effort
Rotowire
Barnes recorded 12 tackles (four solo), including one sack, and added one pass defensed in Sunday's 15-9 win over Green Bay.
Detroit's defense stymied Aaron Rodgers and the Packers all afternoon, and Barnes played a big part in that, more than doubling his previous season high with 12 stops. He also registered his first sack of the campaign when he brought down Rodgers after Green Bay had passed midfield late in the second quarter. Barnes played on 67 percent of the Lions' defensive snaps in the victory, by far his highest share of playing time so far this season.
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Lions' Derrick Barnes: Role expanding
Rotowire
With Detroit expected to move on from Jamie Collins, Barnes is positioned for an expanded role on defense, Chris Burke of The Athletic reports.
Burke notes that head coach Dan Campbell suggested this week that Barnes likely won't directly step into Collins' starting role and log close to 100 percent of the snaps. Instead, Alex Anzalone is expected to remain a key cog at inside linebacker while Barnes and Jalen Reeves-Maybin rotate in beside him. However, Reeves-Maybin has mostly been a special-teams player through five seasons in the league and Barnes is a fourth-round rookie who has impressed with his pass-rushing and tackling ability, so it wouldn't be a surprise if Detroit gives Barnes more and more playing time as the season unfolds.
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