The Detroit Lions’ preseason opener against the New England Patriots on Thursday night ended in a 31-3 loss for the NFC North squad. But that wasn’t the worst news of the night for the Lions.
Wide receiver Jermaine Kearse, who signed with Detroit this June after becoming a free agent during the offseason, suffered a broken leg and additional ankle injuries in the first drive of the game for the Lions offense. This means that he’ll largely miss at least a good chunk of the upcoming NFL season, which kicks off at the beginning of September.
The 29-year-old wide receiver has enjoyed a solid NFL career with the Seattle Seahawks and New York Jets, catching a total of 255 passes for 3,920 yards and 17 touchdowns in 7 NFL seasons.
Kearse was blocking for running back Ty Johnson on a run play in the first quarter of yesterday’s game when he suffered the brutal injury. Doctors immediately ran onto the field to attend to the veteran wide receiver, who appeared to be in considerable pain.
Now, the Lions are left without their veteran option at wide receiver, testing the depth of an already-shallow core of wideouts for quarterback Matthew Stafford. It’s uncertain when Kearse will be able to return to the field, but it certainly won’t happen quickly.
