One of the good stories to the Lions’ season has come to an abrupt end.
Starting cornerback Jerry Jacobs will miss the rest of the season with an ACL injury that coach Dan Campbell said could take nine months to recover from.
“You feel awful,” Campbell said Monday. “He’s improved so much, particularly from spring just to where he’s been playing lately. Before he got hurt, he had already been doing some good things.
“You don’t want any of your guys to get hurt, particularly one of these long-term injuries. The other thing is I hate that it happened now in December. That’s probably a nine-month injury, somewhere in there. The good news is it’s reparable. He’ll work at it, he’ll come back, and he’ll be better than he was. But you hate it for him and for our team.”
Jacobs suffered the injury on the opening drive of Sunday’s loss in Denver when a pair of defenders tackled Broncos receiver Tim Patrick and a helmet hit him in the left knee, causing it to bend inward.
Trainers were called onto the field and Jacobs needed help to get to the sidelines before heading back to the locker room. He was immediately ruled out for the game and replaced by practice squad call-up Nickell Robey-Coleman.
Jacobs, who was just one of two healthy cornerbacks the Lions had on the roster entering Sunday’s game, announced his injury in a Twitter post Monday before he was placed on injured reserve.
“This is a minor setback for a major comeback,” Jacobs wrote. “I can’t wait to get back on the field and play for the best fans in the NFL. Tough times don’t last. Tough people do.”
An undrafted rookie out of Arkansas, Jacobs has been one of the Lions’ few bright spots, tallying 34 tackles, seven pass breakups and a forced fumble this season. He took over a starting role in Week 5 and held his own after injuries thrusted him into the lineup.
Jacobs showed promise in coverage and earned praise as a strong tackler all while steadily improving and playing his way into Detroit’s future plans. However, the setback puts Jacobs’ status in question and is the latest blow to Lions’ collection of young cornerbacks.
Jeff Okudah, the No. 3 pick in the 2020 draft, suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in Week 1, while Ifeatu Melifonwu, a third-round pick in April, missed nine games with a quad injury, and AJ Parker, another undrafted rookie, has been out since late November with an ankle injury.
“That’s not ideal, but I think that certainly you love what you saw out of Jerry,” Campbell said. “(Melifonwu) before he got hurt was making some strides. I think it gives us at least a jump-start on what we think we have in the room. It’s not ideal, but it’s not a lost cause either.”
Filling in
Due to a depleted roster that was riddled with injuries and COVID-19 cases, the Lions had to turn to a few replacements at key spots, which isn’t an easy situation to walk into. That’s why Sunday’s efforts from running back Craig Reynolds and linebacker Josh Woods didn’t go unnoticed by Campbell.
With D’Andre Swift (shoulder) and Jamaal Williams (COVID) sidelined, Reynolds stepped in and rushed for a team-high 83 yards on 11 carries, highlighted by a 35-yard run.
“He was steady. When you go into a game with a guy that hasn’t played for you and you have a lot of trust for him, that’s rare,” Campbell said. “As a play-caller, I didn’t have one problem handing the ball to him.
“He doesn’t make mental errors, he’s got vision as a runner, he’s tough, he can protect, and he’s got a little something as a receiver out of the backfield. I would say what he did yesterday was didn’t surprise any of us.”
After veteran linebacker Alex Anzalone exited the game in the first quarter with an ankle injury, Woods took over in his place and racked up a team-high 13 tackles while making the calls on defense.
“To lose Alex, that’s tough,” Campbell said. “For not having played as much as he’s played at the linebacker position, I thought he played physical, he was downhill. Was it perfect? No. But I thought he went in there and represented himself and us pretty well.”
Campbell added Anzalone is day to day and he’s “hopeful” Swift will able to return to play this weekend.
Pressing on
Campbell said the Lions are “continuing normal procedures” and the team hasn’t received any new guidelines after seven players landed on the COVID-19 reserve list during last week’s outbreak.
The group included cornerbacks Mark Gilbert, Bobby Price and Melifonwu, safety Tracy Walker, center Evan Brown, practice squad linebacker Tavante Beckett and Williams.
As a precaution, Campbell said the team opted to have the players stay at home and not report to the practice facility on Monday.
“We’re just trying to be as smart as we can, as diligent as we can be about this whole thing,” Campbell said. “Even if it means maybe we save one player from exposure to somebody else, we’re doing it.”
However, the number still grew. Cornerback Corey Ballentine was placed on the COVID list Monday, marking the eighth case in eight days and the fifth in defensive backs room since Thursday.
Personnel dept.
The Lions claimed rookie safety Brady Breeze off waivers from Tennessee. The sixth-round pick out of Oregon was a contributor on special teams, but he didn’t play a single defensive snap in five appearances with the Titans.
jhawkins@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @jamesbhawkins