It's Time for Brodric Martin to Step Up

The Detroit Lions couldn't catch a break on the injury front a season ago, ending the season with a double-digit number of players on injured reserve.

And now history could be repeating itself before the 2025 campaign even starts.

On Thursday, the Lions placed six players on the Physically Unable to Perform list, another two players on the Non-Football Injury list and one member of the roster on the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform list.

Among the players affected by the news was defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike, who was assigned to the reserve/PUP list. Subsequently, he will have to sit out the first four games of the upcoming season.

Onwuzurike, a second-round pick of Dan Campbell's squad in 2021, proved to be a vital piece of the Lions’ defensive line last season. He started a career-high 10 games, and recorded 29 hurries, 13 quarterback hits and 45 total pressures. Additionally, he earned a career-high Pro Football Focus overall grade (69.4). 

To begin the 2025 season, he was expected to man the interior of the defensive line in place of Alim McNeill, who is still in the process of recovering from the torn ACL he suffered at the end of last season. 

Undoubtedly, the Onwuzurike injury – which has yet to be disclosed – is a significant blow to Detroit's defensive front.

The onus is now on the team's reserve linemen to step up, most notably third-year pro Brodric Martin. Martin, a third-round pick of Detroit in 2023, has been anything but reliable through his first two seasons in the league.