It wasn’t supposed to be a redshirt year. When the Lions took Ennis Rakestraw Jr. in the second round, they saw quick-twitch instincts, SEC-tested grit, and a plug-and-play nickel corner. But then came the hamstring—a non-contact flare-up during warmups in week 2, and suddenly, his rookie season turned into a crash course in patience. By November, he was bouncing between inactive lists and special teams. Eight games, six tackles, zero rhythm. It wasn’t a rookie wall—it was a season-long pause button.

And now, just one day into Year 2, the déjà vu is setting in. Rakestraw walked off the field after a collision in 11-on-11s, this time grabbing at his chest—a contusion, the team says. No long-term concern, but context is everything. After hamstring tightness, a core muscle procedure in college, and a rookie year full of rehab sessions, each setback lands heavier than the last. And now, Dan Campbell finally addressed it.

The Lions head coach confirmed that the second-year corner “should be okay.” He went on, “Everything came back negative.” However, it was reported that Rakestraw will miss a couple of days of the camp. In his rookie season, the 23-year-old cornerback had a notable performance in the training camp and was optimistic about starting at nickel cornerback in week 2.

By day 8 of the 2024 training camp, the guy earned a promotion to the first-team defense. The performance was worthy enough to earn a strong impression and secure a spot in the starting group for 11-on-11 drills. And the ups followed in preseason as well. During the Lions‘ first preseason game against the Giants, Rakestraw recorded 3 combined tackles (1 solo). Though he didn’t log any tackles in the next two preseason matchups, he told the reports that he was set to start at nickel corner in week 2.

That all happened before he sustained a hamstring injury in warmups that started an unfortunate string of injuries. And just like that, his rookie season was over. Fast forward to now, Coach Dan Campbell believes Rakestraw should be okay ahead of the regular season and will miss just a couple of weeks. However, the problem is that the injury bug just won’t stop biting.

Dan Campbell’s defense in particular has been hit by the injury bug

Last season, Alim McNeill was putting together one of his best years yet—25 tackles, 3.5 sacks, seven tackles for loss, and seven QB hits. Then Week 15 hit, and so did the worst-case scenario: a torn ACL that brought it all to a sudden halt. Malcolm Rodriguez had a similar trajectory. In just 10 games, he racked up 43 tackles, two sacks, a pass deflection, and a fumble recovery before his season was cut short by a torn ACL in Week 13. Now, both are still in recovery mode and expected to miss at least the early stretch of 2025.

This is the Lions’ defense we’re talking about. It’s banged up, in flux, and walking a fine line between promise and panic. Fast forward to 2025 training camp, and Dan Campbell’s defense is in limbo. The Lions placed six of their players on the PUP list last week. Among them, defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike is set to miss the entire season due to ACL surgery. “Levi’s surgery was — it was significant. But it need to be done. Out of his control, and it needed to be done,” Coach Campbell began the training camp with Levi’s injury update.

Besides, defensive end Josh Paschal is expected to remain out of the action until September after an offseason surgery. And it’s getting worse and worse from here. At the beginning of the training camp, the head coach confirmed that LB Alex Anzalone, DE Al-Quadin Muhammad, and LB Anthony Pittman would not be participating in the practice. Last season was marked by injuries, and the 2025 offseason is no exception. Coach Dan Campbell hopes for the recovery of his defense. Will they? Won’t they? We’ll see.