Detroit Lions lose rookie WR Kendrick Law to torn ACL
Allen Park — The injury bug has taken a early bite out of the Detroit Lions’ roster. Ahead of Thursday’s OTA practice, coach Dan Campbell announced that rookie receiver Kendrick Law suffered a torn ACL earlier in the week.
“Get this out of the way, on Tuesday, Kendrick Law tore his ACL out at practice (during) a non-contact drill,” Campbell said. “Hate it for him. Kid was doing a good job. That's, you know, part of it. It's a harsh reality, but he'll get it out of the way early, have his whole career in front of him.”
Law, a fifth-round pick out of Kentucky, had caught the eye of Lions general manager Brad Holmes a year earlier while the receiver was still at Alabama.
Law hit the transfer portal after the 2024 campaign, looking for an expanded opportunity to improve his NFL prospects. He found it with the Wildcats, where he posted 53 receptions for 540 yards last season, with nearly all that damage coming after the catch. He also continued to contribute in the return game and figured to be in that mix for the Lions while he worked toward developing a offensive role.
Detroit’s receiving depth chart remains in good shape despite the unfortunate news. The group is headed by multiple-time All-Pro Amon-Ra St. Brown, speedster Jameson Williams and 2025 third-round pick Isaac TeSlaa.
The team also added Greg Dortch in free agency. The veteran offers a similar skill set to Law and is projected to be the Lions’ No. 4 option and punt returner this season, backfilling the responsibilities previously belonging to Kalif Raymond.
Law’s injury opens the door for Dominic Lovett, Jackson Meeks, Tom Kennedy or veteran Cedric Wilson to potentially claim a fifth receiver spot with a strong training camp and preseason performance later this summer.
Justin, sorry if you have done this already, but I would love an in-depth look at ACL, Achilles, and hamstrings from the standpoint of what a player and team can do, if anything, to strengthen, stretch, warm-up, etc. Are they particularly prevalent very early in football training, like OTAs or early in training camp? Not just Law and Levi last year, but many teams, like Teddy in MN. It seems like most of the Achilles across the league are non-contact like Branch. Accelerating, stopping, cutting at full speed has to be hard on tendons, muscles, and ligaments, especially for people who move significantly faster than the rest of us.
Ugh. And ugly fact of life in this meat grinding business. Does it make us bad people if we just generically wish that all NFL teams have exactly the same injury luck that the Lions do?