Lion Rule Out Four, Six Questionable Against Chiefs

The Detroit Lions have officially ruled out four players against the Kansas City Chiefs.

On the team's official Week 6 injury designation report, running back Sione Vaki, linebacker Zach Cunningham, cornerback Terrion Arnold and defensive tackle Alim McNeill were ruled out.

Six players were ruled questionable, including Brian Branch, Kerby Joseph, Taylor Decker, Avonte Maddox, Giovanni Manu and Kalif Raymond.

Prior to practice, head coach Dan Campbell indicated the front office, led by general manager Brad Holmes, will have a strong plan in place, should the team not have key defenders available against the Chiefs.

“Well, listen, that’s what (General Manager) Brad (Holmes)’s a master at," said Campbell. "And he’s got a plan for it and we talked about it and we’ll be ready. We’ve got answers ready to go, we’ll have a contingency plan. So, we’ll be prepared. Those guys are ready, that’s awesome and if they’re not, it’s still awesome. We’ll play accordingly.”

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes acknowledged Detroit's defense was playing hard and that defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard was putting the roster in great positions to succeed.

“I think he does a great job of of the game planning kind of like we’re talking about the unscouted looks, doing stuff that’s specific to each and every team,” Mahomes said. “He puts his guys in position so they can play fast and play hard.”

Detroit was able to pressure Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson at just the right time. In order for Campbell's squad to leave Kansas City with another victory, the defense must work to ensure the two-time league MVP does not take over the game.

Through the first five games of the 2025 season, Sheppard's defense is averaging 20 quarterback pressures per game.

“You can tell they respect him by how hard they do play. I don’t know if that’s being a former player or whatever it is, but he gets the best out of his guys. It’ll be a great challenge for us," said Mahomes. "We got to match the intensity. We got to match the intensity of of going up against a Detroit Lions football team and a Detroit Lions defense. So it’ll be a great challenge for us.”

Lions offensive coordinator John Morton also credited Mahomes for the Chiefs being able to maintain success over the course of several NFL seasons.

“It starts with the quarterback. It starts with the organization, the head coach, having the same guys all the time. And that’s hard to do. Some guys don’t want to leave because they get used to winning, or some guys take the money, and they leave. But man, they stay together," said Morton. "That’s the reason why they’ve had a lot of success, just the continuity over the years since Andy Reid's been there. But as long as that quarterback’s there, they have a chance.”

Lions Week 6 Friday injury report