{"id":29744,"date":"2025-08-06T11:24:02","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T11:24:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=29744"},"modified":"2025-08-06T11:24:02","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T11:24:02","slug":"lions-alim-mcneill-provides-positive-health-update-im-just-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=29744","title":{"rendered":"Lions’ Alim McNeill Provides Positive Health Update: ‘I’m Just Training’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Oct<\/figure>\n

Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alim McNeill is trending in the right direction as he continues his recovery from a torn ACL. He suffered the injury in the Lions\u2019 Week 15 loss to the Buffalo Bills last season.<\/p>\n

Though currently on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, McNeill offered a highly encouraging update on his status Monday, signaling that his focus has shifted from rehabilitation to regular training.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m doing great,\u201d McNeill said, via the Lions team website. \u201cI don\u2019t really call it rehab anymore. I\u2019m in a spot now where I\u2019m just training. I feel really good. Things are going good, so I can\u2019t complain. I feel great.\u201d<\/p>\n

While McNeill didn\u2019t give a firm timetable for his return, Detroit general manager Brad Holmes recently shared with Sirius XM Radio that there\u2019s optimism McNeill could return earlier than initially anticipated. That would be welcome news for a Lions defensive line that is quietly forming into one of the most formidable fronts in the NFL.<\/p>\n

McNeill has become one of the most productive interior defenders in the league. In 2023, he earned an 88.5 overall grade from Pro Football Focus (PFF), ranking as the sixth-highest graded defensive tackle in football. He accumulated 5.0 sacks and 34 pressures that season. In 2024, before his injury, he remained productive with 45 pressures, 3.5 sacks, and a 79.6 PFF grade \u2013 good for the 13th-best mark among interior linemen.<\/p>\n

In McNeill\u2019s absence, the Lions have seen promising signs from rookie Tyleik Williams. The 2025 first-round pick is coming off a strong training camp performance Monday, highlighted by two sacks of Detroit signal-caller Jared Goff.<\/p>\n

Additionally, veteran DJ Reader, who joined the Lions in 2024, is another integral piece of the team\u2019s interior rotation. He\u2019ll be relied upon even more heavily for consistent production with McNeill on the shelf to start the season.<\/p>\n

Reader and McNeill combined for 6.5 sacks, 49 quarterback hurries and 65 total pressures a season ago.<\/p>\n

When McNeill is cleared to return, he\u2019ll join a talented interior group bookended by EDGE defenders Aidan Hutchinson and Marcus Davenport. The Lions ranked fourth in the NFL last season with 132 total pressures from their interior defensive linemen, trailing only Denver, Seattle and Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

For now, McNeill\u2019s positive health update is a promising sign for a defense with lofty expectations headed into the 2025 regular season.<\/p>\n

McNeill, a 2021 third-round pick of the organization, will be just 25 this upcoming season. He’s signed with Detroit through the 2028 campaign.<\/p>\n

\"Lions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alim McNeill is trending in right direction headed into 2025 season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29745,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-detroit-lions"],"yoast_head":"\nLions' Alim McNeill Provides Positive Health Update: 'I'm Just Training' - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=29744\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lions' Alim McNeill Provides Positive Health Update: 'I'm Just Training' - Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Alim McNeill is trending in right direction headed into 2025 season.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=29744\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-06T11:24:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/lion-10.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MrKen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MrKen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=29744\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=29744\",\"name\":\"Lions' Alim McNeill Provides Positive Health Update: 'I'm Just Training' - 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