Getty ImagesLions tight end Brandon Pettigrew tore his left ACL while in college at Oklahoma State and again during his rookie season with the Lions in 2009, so he may have had some idea what diagnosis was coming when he hurt his left knee in Sunday’s loss to the Rams.
Coach Jim Caldwell announced Monday that Pettigrew suffered his third torn left ACL during the contest.
“Saddened by that because he’s such a warrior and does a tremendous job for us,” Caldwell said, via MLive.com. “Tough guy, great leader and he’s just had some difficulty. He’s had a couple of them now, I guess three total. He knows how to fight back, that’s for sure.”
Pettigrew is signed for next season with a base salary of $3.65 million. With the Lions already looking for a new General Manager and potentially adding a coaching change to the offseason checklist, he may not be around to collect it even if all goes well with his recovery in the coming months.
Eric Ebron and Tim Wright are the other tight ends on the Lions roster. Both are used more as receivers than as blockers, which likely means the Lions will close out the year with a new face helping to take on some of Pettigrew’s role.
there goes their playoff chances! But seriously, this is a bummer for dude. Sounds like a career breaker.
Actually, Ebron is know ore as a talker and a dropper.
Time for the Lions to draft another tight end in the first round…oy. Lions + receivers + tight ends = First round bust
Sad to hear that about Brandon… he’s go to guy.
Ebron needs to shut up and catch balls and stop acting like he’s won the Super Bowl each time he actually COMPLETEs a catch.
We’re all hoping they play for another HC next season… even if in Detroit.
If an unproductive draft bust tears an ACL in an empty stadium during a lost season, does anyone care?