Lions Get Bad News on Key Defensive Player Before Bengals Game

The Detroit Lions have been waiting for a big piece of their defense to return from an injury that has kept him out for the first month of the season — and they’ll have at least one more week to wait.

The team announced on Friday that defensive tackle Alim McNeill would not be able to play against the Cincinnati Bengals, despite making some good progress on his return from a torn ACL. McNeill had been pressing the team to get back onto the field, but the Lions are apparently taking a cautious approach with their starting defensive lineman.

Lions Rule Out Alim McNeill

The team had announced midway through the week that they would evaluate McNeill after Friday’s practice to determine if he could take the field against the Bengals, with head coach Dan Campbell saying he was “50/50” to play. But the team announced Friday that he would be out for the game.

There had been some optimism during the week that McNeill was ready to come off the physically unable to perform list, with defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard saying he had made some meaningful progress.

“I saw all I needed to see. I see him helping in a major way. Now the biggest task for me is being patient,” Sheppard said, via SI.com. “And you know the collaborative effort with our training staff, strength staff, and obviously the head man giving me the green light for him and what that’s going to entail and look like.”

Sheppard said he had spoken with head coach Dan Campbell and both were impressed with the way McNeill looked in drills, noting that he already made up for missed time and “does not look like a player that hasn’t practiced.”

“And that’s credit to him,” Sheppard said. “I know all those bone density and all these guru terms they throw out, but all I know is I see a very, very high caliber defensive tackle when I turned on the tape yesterday. So, I’m very excited to have him back out there.”

Lions Rule Out Three Other Players

The Lions also ruled out three other players for Sunday’s game against the Bengals — running back Sione Vaki, linebacker Zach Cunningham, and cornerback Khalil Dorsey. As Erik Schlitt of SB Nation’s Pride of Detroit noted, Vaki has missed six straight practices while dealing with a groin injury and was expected to miss Sunday’s game.

“There’s hope he will be able to return in the next two weeks, which would give the Lions’ special teams a boost,” Schlitt wrote.

Dorsey remains in the league’s concussion protocol and was able to return to practice on Thursday, but is also limited by a wrist injury, Schlitt added.

The Lions also took a major hit to their defense this week when starting cornerback D.J. Reed was placed on injured reserve. While he will miss the next month at least, Campbell said the injury could have been much worse.

“He’s going to be down for a while,” Campbell told reporters, via The Athletic. “But the good news is this is not a season-ender. We will get him back, it looks like, so that’s the good news. He’s a stud.”

Brian Burns Disrespects Steelers' T.J. Watt in Shocking Admission

The Pittsburgh Steelers' defense did not start the 2025 season off on a great note. It was a rough first couple of games for the unit, but the group has improved week over week, with its best performances coming in Weeks 3 and 4, respectively. Now that the team is on a bye in Week 5, the coaching staff and players will be able to hit the film room to get a better sense of what needs to be improved upon throughout the course of a long stretch to end the campaign. One thing is certain, however, and it's that 2021 AP Defensive Player of the Year

TJ Watt is back to his normal self.

Despite being named the NFL's best defensive player just once, many Steelers fans believe that the future Hall of Fame edge rusher should have won the honor at least twice, and maybe three times by now. He is often forgotten about and disrespected when analysts, players and fans discuss the most dominant pass rushers in all of football. It doesn't make much sense because of how incredible he is when on the field.

NFL insider Jordan Schultz recently posted a quick teaser on his X page from an interview he had with New York Giants defender Brian Burns. On a recent episode of

The Schultz Report, the veteran was asked to name the best of the best when it comes to getting to the quarterback. In what Steelers fans have come to expect, Watt was not included on the list.

"No order, but me, I'd put [Nik] Bonitto in there, Micah [Parsons] hasn't, like, having hel*a sack numbers, but when I watch his tape, like, he's flying off the ball. I'd put Micah on there," Burns said. "I'm not sure if Maxx [Crosby] got off to a slow start, but the last game he had was crazy. Who else is up there right now? Oh my God, I'm tripping. Myles [Garrett]. I'm tripping."

One has to respect Burns' self confidence, but he has never had a season with over 13 sacks throughout his NFL career, and his best year with 12.5 came back in 2022.

Nik Bonnito is another top-notch defender in the NFL, but is only four seasons into his young career. Watt continues to impress on a yearly basis, and hasn't let up in 2025. The four-time All-Pro has six quarterback hits, five tackles for loss and three sacks in four weeks. There's no doubt that he remains among the game's elite. He even has one interception this season as well.

Watt didn't even end up getting any kind of credit or shoutout from Burns, which is what has come to be expected. For some reason, there remains a lack of true respect for the Steelers' team captain no matter what kind of run he is on. The veteran is currently fourth on the active sack leaders list and was drafted in 2017. The three individuals above him were drafted no later than 2011.

There comes a time when Watt needs to earn the credit that is due and while he has slipped through the cracks in recent years for some unknown reason, he remains as one of the best pass rushers in all of football. Without him on the field, the Steelers' defense would be in a lot of trouble due to how much of a significant impact he truly has.

Steelers Will Continue To Rely On Watt's Dominance

Watt did go through a bit of a dry spell at the end of the 2024 campaign and in the first couple weeks of 2025, but he has once again reminded fans why he is so dominant. The Week 3 and Week 4 matchups saw him make big play after big play. He is still getting to the quarterback extremely often and someone who remains as a player that gets overlooked too many times in any given season.