Nick Fairley Injury: Updates on Lions Star's Knee and Return

Updates from Sunday, Jan. 4

Albert Breer of NFL.com reported the pregame expectation for Nick Fairley's status for today's game against the Cowboys:

Breer later confirmed that Fairley is inactive.

Updates from Friday, Jan. 2

ESPN's Michael Rothstein has the latest on Fairley's status:

Paula Pasche of the Oakland Press has the latest on Fairley:

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Nick Fairley returned to practice on Friday for the second straight day.

“He’s in a practice process to play protocol. We’ll see if he needs it,’’ coach Jim Caldwell said before the start of Friday’s practice.

While there is no guarantee Fairley will play on Sunday in the wild-card game at Dallas, certainly there is a chance even if it for a limited number of snaps.

“I think you have to look at every player for that type of value they can add, but you also have to look overall at your numbers and weigh that balance,’’ Caldwell said. “Four or five plays is a little  different than a guy who is capable of playing significantly more. We have to look at every situation differently and make a decision based upon that. We’ll look at his a little differently than others.’’

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Updates from Thursday, Jan. 1

Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com passed along comments from Nick Fairley on his injured knee:

Updates from Monday, Dec. 29

Jim Caldwell spoke about Nick Fairley's chances of playing in Detroit's playoff game vs. Dallas, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press:

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Lions coach Jim Caldwell said at his weekly press conference today that "it'd be a miracle" if Nick Fairley plays this weekend.

(...)

Caldwell said the Lions are not considering placing Fairley or right guard Larry Warford, who injured his knee in Sunday's season-ending loss 30-20 loss to the Green Bay Packers, on season-ending injured reserve to make room for center Dominic Raiola, who will be reinstated from his one-game suspension today.

"

Updates from Sunday, Dec. 28

Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press confirmed that Nick Fairley is out for Week 17 vs. Green Bay:

Updates from Friday, Dec. 26

Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press provides an update on Fairley's status ahead of the team's Week 17 game against the Packers:

Updates from Monday, Dec. 22

Lions head coach Jim Caldwell is still hopeful that Fairley will return at some point this season. Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com provided an update:

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Caldwell said there is no deadline for either Fairley to return or for the team to place him on injured reserve.

'I keep saying it, but he is getting better,' Caldwell said. 'He’s coming along. Off the crutches, into strength training on that particular injury and he’s making progress.'

"

Updates from Sunday, Dec. 14

Nick Fairley is inactive for Week 15, via Michael Rothstein of ESPN.

Updates from Thursday, Dec. 11

Kyle Meineke of MLive.com reported the latest on Nick Fairley's recovery:

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Fairley hasn't practiced since suffering a right knee sprain in an Oct. 26 game against the Atlanta Falcons. But Detroit ramped up the defensive tackle's activity in recent days, which could be a sign he's closing in on a return.

'He's into a little different phase now in terms of the rehab, and hopefully he continues to improve,' coach Jim Caldwell said.

"

Updates from Sunday, Dec. 7

Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com confirmed Nick Fairley was inactive for Week 14:

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Inactive for Detroit Sunday are: Fairley, quarterback Kellen Moore, defensive end Larry Webster, receiverRyan Broyles, tackle Garrett Reynolds, guard Rodney Austin and defensive tackle Caraun Reid.

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Updates from Monday, Dec. 1

Chris McCosky of the Detroit News reported on Nick Fairley's status:

Updates from Thursday, Nov. 27

Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com announced Nick Fairley would not play in Week 13.

Updates from Monday, Nov. 24

Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com confirms Nick Fairley would not have practiced today if one was held.

Updates from Sunday, Nov. 23

Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com announced Nick Fairley would not play in Week 12.

Updates from Sunday, No. 16

Kent Somers of AZCentral.com reported on Nick Fairley's status for Week 11:

Updates from Sunday, Nov. 9

Nick Fairley is inactive for Week 10, Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com confirmed.

Updates from Friday, Nov. 7

Tim Twentyman of Lions.com has an update on Nick Fairley:

Updates from Monday, Nov. 3

Jim Caldwell spoke about Nick Fairley's status on Monday, via Paula Pasche of The Oakland Press:

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'Right now he is under the doctor’s care and supervision. He’s gotten a couple of opinions,' Caldwell said. 'Hopefully it’ll be just one of those things where he can heal. We’ll see in a couple weeks and make a determination from there.'

 

(...)

 

'I’m not certain exactly where he is at this point in time,’' Caldwell said. 'To be honest, nobody knows. There’s anything that can happen. There can be an unbelievable turn-around or it can be lengthy. We’ll wait and see.’'

"

Updates from Wednesday, Oct. 29

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com updated Nick Fairley's status following his knee injury:

Updates from Monday, Oct. 27

Michael C. Wright of ESPN reported the diagnosis on Nick Fairley's knee injury:

Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network added:

Earlier, Peter King of MMQB.SI.com reported what he was hearing regarding the severity of Fairley's knee injury:

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The Lions were initially heartened that vital defensive tackle Nick Fairley hadn’t suffered a season-ending knee injury in London Sunday. But this morning I am hearing it’s bad. We’ll see what the MRI shows later today.

"

Original Text

Detroit Lions defensive tackle Nick Fairley left Sunday's game against the Falcons after suffering a knee injury in the second quarter. 

Fairley, 26, went down after a collision with Ndamukong Suh, as described by Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press:

Birkett also noted the depth at defensive tackle for the Lions today:

The 2014 season has been one of ups and downs for Fairley, the Lions' first-round pick in 2011. Intermittently effective his first three NFL seasons, Detroit failed to pick up Fairley's fifth-year option for 2015—a sign it this would be his last chance to prove himself. Fairley was then temporarily benched during the preseason, a move that's had promising ramifications for himself and the Lions as a whole.

Inserted back into the starting lineup before Week 1, Fairley has become an integral part of a Detroit defense that ranks among the best in football. The Lions rank well inside the top 10 against the pass and rush, and have spent most of 2014 as the top overall unit in Football Outsiders' DVOA metric.

USA TODAY Sports

Although the counting stats remain unspectacular—Fairley had 14 tackles and one sack coming into this week—he's gotten his weight down and been part of a disruptive front seven.

"He’s been a really diligent in terms of taking care of himself and doing the things we’ve asked him to,’’ Lions coach Jim Caldwell told reporters. “Got his weight down to where he’s most effective. Not only that he’s enjoying himself and having a very fine year—active, disruptive and really full of energy. We’ve been pleased with his progress."

The Lions have used a line rotation for most of the season, so Fairley's loss shouldn't come as a gigantic culture shock. Mosley has been on the field for roughly 40 percent of snaps this season, per Football Outsiders, and is a veteran who knows the system. If Fairley misses a significant chunk of time, the question will be whether Reid, a fifth-round pick from Princeton, can produce when he's subbed into the spot that used to be Mosley's.

Detroit's defense probably won't miss a beat. It has as much (if not more) defensive talent up front as anyone. Real problems may arise if Suh or Reid goes down while Fairley is still on the shelf, though.

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