Lions injury updates: Estimated return timelines for Detroit's key missing players

The Detroit Lions are once again being plagued by injuries during the 2025 season, with the team missing several key players, especially on defense.

The Lions know this story all too well, as head coach Dan Campbell's squad was the most banged-up team in the NFL last season.

The Lions have successfully navigated their injuries thus far and sit at 4-1 going into Week 6, but we know their Super Bowl hopes won't be as good if the Lions don't get healthy before the playoffs.

Here's what we know about the estimated return timelines for players like Terrion Arnold, D.J. Reed, Alim McNeill, Taylor Decker and Marcus Davenport.

Terrion Arnold injury update

Terrion Arnold is dealing with a shoulder injury that was initially thought to be significant and quite possibly season-ending.

However, after getting a second opinion, it turns out that Arnold might be back before the end of this month, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

A second opinion on Lions CB Terrion Arnold’s shoulder today revealed the injury is not as bad as feared and he now is expected to return, as one source described, “sooner than expected,” quite possibly this month," Schefter reported.

Based on Schefter's reporting, we could see Arnold back in Week 7, but more likely than not we'll see Arnold after the Week 8 bye. The fact that Arnold wasn't placed on injured reserve suggests he'll miss three games, at most.

D.J. Reed injury update

Reed suffered a hamstring injury in Week 4 and has since been placed on injured reserve, which puts him out for a minimum of four games.

Because Reed has already missed one game, he'll be out for a minimum of three more, which puts his earliest possible return date at Week 10 (Detroit has a bye Week 8), although it remains to be seen if he'll be back when first eligible.

Taylor Decker injury update

Decker has been battling a shoulder injury since Week 1 and it is unrelated to his offseason shoulder surgery.

Decker did not practice this past week, but he did draw a questionable tag before being downgraded to out.

That suggests he at least had a chance to play in Week 6 and might be able to return in Week 7, but that has not been confirmed yet. There's a good chance the Lions will sit Decker until after the Week 8 bye.

Alim McNeill injury update

McNeill is still working his way back from a torn ACL suffered last season.

McNeill was designated to return from the PUP list on Oct. 1 and has 21 days to be activated to the 53-man roster or else he'll be out for the season.

The 21st day falls on Oct. 22, which is the Wednesday before the bye. We would suspect McNeill will return for Week 7, but again that's just a guess.

Marcus Davenport injury update

Davenport was placed on injured reserves on Sept. 22 and is forced to miss a minimum of four games as a result.

After Week 6, Davenport will have missed those four games, so he'll be eligible to return in Week 7. It remains to be seen if that will happen, though.

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