Mikel Leshoure out for Season as Detroit Lions' Injury Woes Continue

There is more bad news out of the Detroit Lions training camp at Allen Park, Michigan.

The Lions have lost their second-round pick Mikel Leshoure for the season to a torn Achilles.

Leshoure was voted a second team All-American by the Associated Press last year for Illinois. Leshoure ran for 1700 yards and 17 touchdowns for the Illini last season. He was was meant to be the power back alongside Jahvid Best this year for the Lions. Best played in all 16 games last season, but with his small 5'10" 199-pound frame, it made sense to bring in another running back to take some of the load off of Best.

Injuries seem to be a big issue with this team. Their starting quarterback Matthew Stafford missed much of last year with injury and there is not much behind him at that position.

Leshoure's injury comes on the heels of the Lions defense taking a hit after their first round pick Nick Fairley went down with an injury earlier in camp. The Lions' starting tackles are also recovering from injuries.

Even with the loss of Leshoure, I still like the Lions to make a playoff run. Matthew Stafford is healthy and, if he can stay on the field, the Lions should be fine on the offensive side of the ball.

Defensively, the Lions should have arguably one of the best lines in the league with Fairley and Ndamukong Suh. However, Fairley's injury is losing him time in training camp and conditioning may be an issue at the start of the season.

I fully expect the Lions to add another back within the near future in response to losing Leshoure.