![\"Detroit](\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2025\/10\/16195915\/USATSI_24669225-1024x683.jpg?width=1920&quality=70&auto=webp\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
ALLEN PARK, Mich. \u2014 Alim McNeill has been visualizing this since Dec. 15, 2024. That\u2019s the day his season ended, and the day this all started.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a long time coming for Detroit\u2019s talented do-it-all defensive tackle. He wasn\u2019t there for his team\u2019s playoff run, watching along as he and several other key members of this defense recovered from various injuries. What was once a dream season, with McNeill playing the best football of his life, was taken away after tearing his ACL vs. the Bills in Week 15.<\/p>\n
McNeill, though, is set to make his 2025 debut on Monday night vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He\u2019s worked tirelessly to get here.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the only thing I\u2019ve been looking forward to,\u201d McNeill said Thursday. \u201cI don\u2019t even know how to explain that to you. I\u2019ve been waiting on this day for a long, long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
McNeill is a prime example of how the Lions built this team. He was part of a foundational 2021 draft class that netted them Penei Sewell, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Derrick Barnes, among others. A third-round pick out of N.C. State, McNeill was known as more of a run-stuffer than an interior pass rusher coming out of the draft. But the Lions felt he had more in him and were confident he could take his game wherever he wanted it to go.<\/p>\n
![\"Alim](\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2025\/10\/16200132\/USATSI_24484095-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
McNeill is eager to hit the field Monday night against Tampa Bay. \u201cI\u2019ve been waiting on this day,\u201d he said. (Kevin Jairaj \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
After solid rookie and sophomore campaigns, McNeill proved the Lions right. He changed his diet ahead of his third season. He cut out red meat and focused on portion control while incorporating healthier foods into his daily meals. His body fat dropped 13 percent, and McNeill saw his playing weight decrease from 327 to 305. He became a true gym rat, spending his offseasons in Detroit to put in work at the facility. He took up yoga, attending classes once a week and making sure to get his stretching done each morning.<\/p>\n
The end result was a much lighter, nimbler version of McNeill. He was able to harness the untapped pass-rushing skills the Lions felt he had and pair that with an ability to anchor in the run game. He\u2019s a truly versatile player, able to play nose tackle or three-technique.<\/p>\n
A breakout season awaited him. A four-year, $97 million contract extension did, too. The goal for any NFL franchise should be to draft well, develop and re-sign quality young talent deemed part of the future. A lot of teams say that\u2019s what they\u2019re about. The Lions live it, through good process and smart financial planning.<\/p>\n
McNeill was no different.<\/p>\n
\u201cFired up for Mac. Man, he earned that,\u201d Dan Campbell said of McNeill\u2019s extension last year. \u201cHe\u2019s a pivotal piece here for us, and he\u2019s one of our pillars here. No different than these guys that we\u2019ve signed back, so we\u2019re fired up for him. He\u2019s playing at a high level.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen Alim kind of grow up from a rookie to his second year, now his third year and so on, but it\u2019s awesome and they\u2019re rewarding the right guys and that\u2019s what good teams do,\u201d QB Jared Goff said last season. \u201cIt gives everyone else in the locker room like, \u2018Hey, you want to be rewarded, you want to make a ton of money like these guys? Just watch these guys practice. \u2026 It\u2019s an easy thing for them to do for them upstairs, I\u2019m sure, to reward the right guys, but it also feels good for us in the locker room.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 2024 season was McNeill\u2019s best to date. At the time of his injury, he ranked top 10 among defensive tackles in pressures (eighth with 45) and pass rush win rate (sixth at 14.5 percent), per PFF. He gets it done against the run and pass and has earned a reputation as one of the most complete defensive tackles in football.<\/p>\n
Two months after agreeing to his extension, though, McNeill went down.<\/p>\n
The way he did it \u2014 while pressuring Bills QB Josh Allen \u2014 was all the more unfortunate. McNeill bent around the corner, hand-swiped his way past guard Connor McGovern and landed awkwardly on his right knee \u2014 immediately grabbing it in frustration. He lingered on the field for a bit, as trainers came to his aid.<\/p>\n
He knew right away. He tore his ACL. His season was over.<\/p>\n
\u201cMac\u2019s out for the year, he\u2019s got a knee injury that\u2019s going to require surgery,\u201d Campbell said in December, when asked about the latest wave of injuries that depleted his defense. \u201cThose guys helped us get to this point, so we owe it to them, they laid it on the line for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
As difficult as it is to watch your season end right before the playoffs, McNeill carried an uncommonly positive mindset into the rehab awaiting him. He lay low after surgery, allowing his knee to rest and recover. When he was cleared to begin rehabbing, McNeill spent five months in San Diego with Derrick Samuel, a physical therapist the team recommended. He spent most days getting comfortable on his surgically repaired knee. Slowly but surely, McNeill was working his way back, with hopes of beating a November timeline.<\/p>\n
Rehab came naturally to McNeill because of the work ethic he\u2019s adopted. He\u2019s turned himself into a true pro in this league with strong habits, and that extended to his ACL rehab. It was his first major injury. The days were long. But they were never dark, in part, because of the end goal in sight.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like that\u2019s just who I am,\u201d McNeill said. \u201cPeople have those moments, I\u2019m not trying to downplay that at all, it\u2019s just, me personally, I can\u2019t have dark days just because that doesn\u2019t do anything for me. So it\u2019s like, I have to go forward, and my only goal was to get back on the field. So, I\u2019m like, \u2018Dark days for what?\u2019 I play for the Detroit Lions. I\u2019m training. I don\u2019t have to pay for this training. I just didn\u2019t have any dark days. \u2026 Every day I woke up, I was just like, \u2018Let\u2019s get better today.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s always very steady, which I appreciate about him,\u201d Aidan Hutchinson said of McNeill. \u201cNever too high, never too low, and I think that\u2019s why he\u2019s had the success that he\u2019s had. He\u2019s gonna continue to be that way, and that\u2019s why he\u2019s special.\u201d<\/p>\n
In training camp, you could often find McNeill popping out of the weight room on occasion to take in practice or chop it up with his teammates on the side. He looked cut at the time, even more so than usual. In addition to rehabbing, McNeill worked to continue transforming his body. That\u2019s saying something, considering the last time he did this, he established himself as one of the game\u2019s most versatile defensive tackles. The idea of him being even better, once the rust is shaken off, was a scary one when you\u2019d see him this summer.<\/p>\n
But over the past few weeks, McNeill had been more and more visible in the locker room. It was a sign that perhaps he\u2019d be back sooner rather than later. McNeill was confident that\u2019d be the case. And earlier this month, the Lions began his 21-day return window. A remarkable comeback for a player who was once expected back around mid- to late November, based on the timing of his injury. He\u2019s set to make his season debut on \u201cMonday Night Football\u201d against the Buccaneers on Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see him helping in a major way,\u201d Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard said of McNeill this month. \u201cI told Dan yesterday, it\u2019s amazing when you watch those practice clips. It\u2019s like he\u2019s been at training camp. I mean, he does not look like a player that hasn\u2019t practiced. And that\u2019s credit to him. I know all those bone density and all these guru terms they throw out, but all I know is I see a very, very high-caliber defensive tackle when I turned on the tape yesterday. So, I\u2019m very excited to have him back out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFifty-four, it\u2019s gonna be great,\u201d Hutchinson said Thursday. \u201cIt\u2019s gonna be so good to have him back. I know he can\u2019t wait to be back. It\u2019s gonna be fun to watch. That\u2019s all I know, and we\u2019re gonna be playing beside each other on some reps, too. So, it\u2019s gonna be really great to get him back.\u201d<\/p>\n
McNeill said he\u2019s been sitting at home in recent weeks, visualizing himself making plays for this defense. Of course, he doesn\u2019t need to visualize it \u2014 anyone who turns on his tape last season can see his impact for themselves \u2014 but it\u2019s how he\u2019s managed to work his way back. He\u2019s set to rejoin a Lions team that will welcome him with open arms, in hopes that a few quarterbacks end up in his.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s been ready for this.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had surgery January 2nd, and then after that, I was just like, \u2018All right, it\u2019s time to go, we gotta get back soon as we can,’\u201d McNeill said. \u201cIf I could\u2019ve came back in two weeks, I would have did it. But it was what it was. We\u2019re here now. It\u2019s good to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Defensive tackle Alim McNeill tore his ACL in December and is returning a little ahead of schedule<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35655,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[49],"class_list":["post-35654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-detroit-lions","tag-detroit-lions"],"yoast_head":"\n