Lions DL Levi Onwuzurike out for season with ACL surgery, setback for team with ailing Alim McNeill
Lions coach Dan Campbell made the announcement on Sunday morning, just before his team had the NFL's first training camp practice of the year.
The 27-year-old Onwuzurike started in a career-high 11 games last season, including Detroit's loss to Washington in the divisional round. His playing time increased when McNeill had a season-ending knee injury in December. McNeill, who signed a $97 million, four-year contract extension last October, is out indefinitely.
Onwuzurike's injury gives rookie defensive tackle Tyleik Williams a chance to play a significant role when the two-time defending NFC North champions kick off the season Sept. 7 at Green Bay.
Detroit drafted the former Ohio State standout with the 28th pick overall in the NFL draft. The 6-foot-3, 334-pound Williams started 13 games for the national champion Buckeyes and had 46 tackles, including eight for losses and 2 1/2 sacks.
The Lions will also lean on 31-year-old defensive tackle DJ Reader and newly acquired veteran Roy Lopez, who started 16 games last season for Arizona and has 50 career starts with the Cardinals and Houston Texans.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Titans QB Will Levis will have season-ending shoulder surgery
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee quarterback Will Levis will have season-ending shoulder surgery, keeping him from competing for playing time in his third season with the Titans. The Titans announced Monday that Levis made his decision after consulting with doctors and his representatives. The Titans report Tuesday for training camp. 'We support his decision to focus on his long-term health,' the Titans said in a statement. 'He approached the offseason with professionalism and showed clear growth as a leader. We remain confident in his full recovery.' Tennessee, which wrapped up its minicamp June 12, doesn't open the preseason until Aug. 9 at Tampa Bay with the regular-season opener Sept. 7 at Denver. Levis' surgery is scheduled for July 29. The Titans used the No. 1 overall pick on quarterback Cam Ward in April after Levis struggled mightily starting 12 games in 2024. He threw for 2,091 yards, but he had 13 TD passes with 12 interceptions. He was sacked 41 times as Tennessee went 3-14 to land the top draft pick. Tennessee also added veteran quarterbacks Brandon Allen and Tim Boyle this offseason. Levis was the 33rd overall pick in 2023 when Tennessee's previous general manager Ran Carthon traded up to select the quarterback out of Kentucky. Carthon lasted just two seasons before being fired in January. Coach Brian Callahan rotated quarterbacks during the offseason program with no starter announced, a rotation he said he plans to continue into training camp. Still, Ward is expected to be the starter when the Titans open the regular season. That seemed to leave the competition for the No. 2 position wide open for Levis, who took part throughout the team's offseason program. He told reporters in June he felt more comfortable in his second season in Callahan's offense and was looking forward to training camp. "I feel like I'm starting to get to that point as a quarterback, and it's just cool to feel that and see it and show everyone else here,' Levis said during minicamp. ___ AP NFL:
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Fantasy Baseball 2-Start Pitcher Rankings: With options limited, focusing on one-start streamers seems ideal
Finding a two-start pitcher in the first full week after the All-Star break is always a tough task. Most teams rolled out their best starters for the initial second-half games, which means that the players who start Monday and Tuesday are primarily those who have struggled thus far. In many fantasy baseball leagues, I would skip the entire two-start list and focus on the top hurlers in one-start streamers section. On the hitting side, managers in shallow leagues can start off their week by looking for Cardinals, while those in deeper formats can search for Astros. Fantasy Baseball Two-Start Pitchers (listed in order of preference) Mitch Keller, Pirates, 51% (vs. DET, vs. ARI) Keller is having his best MLB season (3.48 ERA, 1.14 WHIP), but thanks to the Pirates low-scoring offense, he has a 3-10 record to show for it. The right-hander would normally be advisable to use despite the low win potential, but he faces two offenses that rank among the top 6 in runs scored. Still, we can consider him the best of a bad bunch. Jacob Lopez, Athletics, 24% (@ TEX, @ HOU) After enjoying a dazzling stretch for most of June, Lopez has come crashing back to reality by logging a 6.39 ERA and 1.42 WHIP across his past three starts. In defense of Lopez, all three of those games came against teams with winning records, and he produced a solid 14:4 K:BB ratio during the rough stretch. The lefty has a polarizing schedule this week, as the Astros rank second in OPS vs. southpaws, while the Rangers sit way down at 29th. Tomoyuki Sugano, Orioles, 13% (@ CLE, vs. COL) Sugano out-pitched his expected stats for a little over two months before regressing badly with a 7.94 ERA and 1.94 WHIP across his past six starts. Simply put, the 35-year-old rookie doesn't dominate the strike zone well enough (5.4 K/9 rate) to have sustained success. Still, Sugano could be a decent one-week dice roll in 12-team leagues, as he has an incredible schedule, which includes the Guardians (26th in runs scored) and Rockies (28th). Max Scherzer, Blue Jays, 44% (vs. NYY, @ DET) Although Scherzer has posted mediocre ratios in four starts since coming off the injured list (4.50 ERA, 1.30 WHIP), he has been hampered by a .327 BABIP while logging a solid 23:7 K:BB ratio in 20 innings. He would normally receive strong consideration, but has tough matchups this week. The Yankees (3rd) and Tigers (6th) are among the top teams in runs scored. Joey Cantillo, Guardians, 8% (vs. BAL, @ KC) In three starts since joining the rotation, Cantillo has had some successes (18 strikeouts in 12.2 IP) and failures (4.97 ERA, 1.58 WHIP). Until he makes improvements to his walk rate, the 25-year-old will likely be a roller coaster that fantasy managers do not want to ride. The southpaw has a favorable schedule this week. The Royals struggle to score and Orioles have been awful against lefties, but it still may not be enough to get him into 12-team lineups. Jake Irvin, Nationals, 17% (vs. CIN, @ MIN) We know who Irvin is by now — a below-average starter who eats innings but gives up too many homers to be useful in fantasy. He has average matchups this week, but his ceiling is as a dart throw in 15-team leagues. Hayden Birdsong, Giants, 16% (@ ATL, vs. NYM) After showing improved control skills in his initial work as a starter, Birdsong has walked 21 batters across 27.2 innings in his past six starts. The righty has plenty of strikeout potential but cannot be trusted in any categories league until he lowers his walk rate. At best, Birdsong is a points-league option this week, thanks to his RP eligibility. Randy Vásquez, Padres, 5% (@ MIN, vs. @ STL) Those who look beyond Vásquez's 3.80 ERA will choose to leave him on waivers. The right-hander does plenty of WHIP damage (1.39) and all of his ERA estimators are north of 5.00. Any pitcher with a 50:46 K:BB ratio is headed for hard times. [Smarter waivers, better trades, optimized lineups — Yahoo Fantasy Plus unlocks it all] One-Start Streamers In order, here are the best streamers for the week, with their start date and Yahoo roster rate in brackets. Trevor Rogers vs. COL (Saturday, 50%) Ryne Nelson @ PIT (Friday, 41%) Michael Wacha vs. CLE (Friday, 39%) Sean Manaea vs. LAA (Wednesday, 51%) Emmet Sheehan @ BOS (Friday, 23%) Taj Bradley vs. CWS (Wednesday, 48%) Slade Cecconi vs. BAL (Wednesday, 19%) Zebby Matthews vs. WSH (Saturday, 20%) Dean Kremer @ CLE (Friday, 28%) Patrick Corbin vs. ATH (Wednesday, 12%) Brandon Walter @ ARI (Wednesday, 18%) Janson Junk @ MIL (Saturday, 28%) Colin Rea vs. KC (Wednesday, 23%) Favorable Monday-Thursday hitting matchups Cardinals @ Rockies, vs. Padres St. Louis should score early and often when it heads to Coors Field to face a Colorado pitching staff with a 6.12 home ERA. The Rockies are slated to start lefties on Monday and Wednesday, which makes right-handed hitters Iván Herrera (55%) and Masyn Winn (49%) the best players to add in shallow leagues. In deeper formats, Victor Scott II (14%) is a good option for steals. Alec Burleson (51%) is a good streamer for the entire week, as he will benefit from facing righties in five of the team's seven games. Astros @ D-backs, vs. Athletics Houston will face four below average starters over the next four days, and a pair of bullpens that both rank among the bottom-5 in ERA. There aren't too many options from this offense in deep leagues, but Victor Caratini (14%) qualifies as someone who has played well of late and is widely available. Mauricio Dubon (4%) has been an everyday player in July, and Cam Smith (49%) is still sitting on waivers in some shallow leagues.
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
AAC rebrands as American Conference in move designed to fuel growth in changing college landscape
The American Athletic Conference is rebranding itself as, simply, the American Conference as part of a wide-ranging effort it says is designed to fuel growth and elevate its position in a quickly changing college-sports landscape. The 15-team football conference also on Monday unveiled a new slogan — 'Built To Rise' — and introduced Soar the Eagle as a new mascot. Both will be featured in promotions and public service announcements that air during games involving its teams. By changing names, the conference will get rid of the 'AAC' nickname that often got confused with the Power Four's ACC — Atlantic Coast Conference. It wants to be known as the 'American Conference,' or the 'American.' American's commissioner, Tim Pernetti, has been aggressive about positioning the conference in the name, image and likeness era, announcing earlier this year that all members except Army and Navy would be required to revenue share at least $10 million over the next three seasons; it was the first league to set such a minimum standard. Under the new NIL rules, schools are allowed to share up to $20.5 million in revenue in the 2025-26 season. 'This modernization is rooted in who we are and where we're headed,' Pernetti said. "It prioritizes clarity, momentum, and the competitive advantage driving every part of our conference forward.' These are fraught days for the Group of Five conferences, which includes the American, and whose teams have been constant targets in an era of realignment. Since 2023, the American has lost Cincinnati, UCF and SMU but has added seven teams: Charlotte, FAU, North Texas, Rice, UAB, UT-San Antonio and Army (for football). It now has 15 teams. Army and Tulane stayed on the fringe of the race for a spot in the College Football Playoff race last season. ___ AP college sports:
