Sione Vaki’s training camp took a brutal turn on Monday, and the Detroit Lions are now waiting on a recovery timeline after a freak injury left the versatile back sidelined indefinitely.
Head coach Dan Campbell said the team is hopeful Vaki’s vision will be fine, but the Lions will keep him out for now while he recovers.
“We’re hopeful, vision should be okay in time,” Campbell said. “We’re not gonna have him here today, just gonna let him kind of recover a little bit.
So we think he’ll be okay. He’s just gonna need a minute here.
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“Just one of those freak things, somehow a hand gets through the facemask. It was unbelievable.”
The injury happened when a teammate’s hand got through Vaki’s facemask and struck him in the eye, fracturing his nose in the process. Team officials responded by adjusting practice so he could get the space he needs to rest and recover.
Vaki, a third-year back, came into camp with a chance to push for a bigger role in the Lions’ backfield rotation. Instead, the setback has stalled that momentum after he had impressed during early-summer workouts.
The Lions drafted Vaki in the fourth round with the 132nd overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, trading up with the Philadelphia Eagles to get him. He was listed as a running back by Detroit, though he was primarily a safety in college, and his value has come from his ability to contribute on offense, defense and special teams.
During the 2025 regular season, Vaki played in 11 games and did most of his work on special teams.
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