Tuesday the Lions removed linebacker DeAndre Levy from the non-football injury list after the 29-year old missed basically all of last season with a ‘hip injury’.
The move today paves the way for a much anticipated comeback for Levy who back in 2014 was arguably the Lions’ best player on defense racking up the second most tackles in the NFL. This performance helped anchor a Lions defense that was second best in the League when it came to total YPG. Detroit also had the best run stopping defense that season allowing on average just 69.3 YPG, something that could certainly be attributed to what Levy was able to provide at linebacker.
Speculation however arose last season when it came to what exactly Levy was suffering from.
A hip injury seemed specific enough although rumors circulated about the linebacker actually going down with a parasite that affected the hip area after Levy decided to play chicken with his NFL career in the wake of signing a four-year, $33.8 million dollar deal with the Lions.
Last month Kyle Meinke of Mlive.com wrote the Lions remained ‘coy’ on the status of Levy when he was once again going to be unable to perform once camp begun. No denial of a parasite or otherwise.
Not that Jim Caldwell or the Lions’ evasiveness is confirmation that Levy was actually suffering from a parasite however if it was an outrageous notion you’d think the team would be quick to squash the rumor.
Either way it’s good Levy is finally able to get back on the field. The Lions defense certainly needs him.