Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard didn’t hide how much Jack Campbell’s injury hit him on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters, Sheppard talked through the linebacker’s neck injury and the way Detroit plans to carry on without its captain. Campbell was hurt early in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 19-15 win over the Minnesota Vikings, then placed on a backboard and carted off by medical staff.
The team later shared an encouraging update, and Campbell was still hospitalized Wednesday. He also released a statement of his own: “I have full movement in my lower body, and I’m continuing to make progress with movement in my upper body,” he wrote.
Sheppard’s message to the defense was clear: keep the standard tied to Campbell. “The theme has been let’s prepare and play like 46,” Sheppard said.
He pushed that point even harder when he explained how the group should respond emotionally. “The way you honor him is to wipe those tears from your eyes and make sure we prepare and play like him,” Sheppard said.
There was no shortage of emotion on the field when Campbell went down. As his cart left the field, Detroit made a rare exception on fourth down with a slim lead.
Aidan Hutchinson, who had been crying as Campbell lay motionless, came screaming off the edge. Derrick Barnes, one of Campbell’s closest friends, blitzed from the other side.
The pressure got to quarterback Kyler Murray, and his throw sailed and was broken up.
Now the Lions will lean more on Barnes and Malcolm Rodriguez, with Trevor Nowaske also taking on a bigger role. Sheppard said the identity stays tied to Campbell.
“This is still Jack Campbell’s defense,” Sheppard said. “Every time I call a play, he’s going to know, wherever he’s at, why I’m calling that play.”
On Wednesday, Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley also opened his news conference with Campbell on his mind. “We are thinking of him and praying for him and for the Lions,” Hafley said.
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