In Detroit’s 45-21 victory over the Arizona Cardinals, they did lose a significant piece of the special teams in return man Tom Kennedy.
The Detroit Lions are coming off of one of their most complete wins of the season in a 45-21 drubbing of the Arizona Cardinals. However, coming out of the win, not everything was positive for Detroit. During the game, Tom Kennedy suffered an injury that kept him out of the rest of the game, and had Amon-Ra St. Brown returning punts. It turns out that the injury was a season-ender for Kennedy.
He suffered an MCL injury in his right knee that will take him out for the remainder of the 2026-27 football campaign. Kennedy was injured early in the second quarter on a punt return, where he was crunched under the defender and his own teammate. Early on, Dan Campbell did not think it was such a significant injury, until the news came along that he would be getting season-ending surgery on his right MCL.
When Kennedy left the game, Amon-Ra St. Brown returned punts and did a decent job with it. He had some solid returns, although he did fumble on one of them. There is a likely chance the Lions look to find a different return man for the rest of the season, as they likely will not want their wide receiver taking extra hits on special teams for the rest of the season. Jacob Saylors will take over duties on the kick returns for sure, but it is unknown if the Lions will continue to have Amon-Ra St. Brown return punts.
Kennedy looks to get fully healthy and recovered for next season to continue to hold a spot on the roster. It is sad to see the Lions lose a key piece of the special teams to a season-ending injury. Football games are won in three phases, and special teams is one of them. It will be a challenge to replace his presence in the locker room and his veteran knowledge as a return man for the Lions.
