Detroit Lions NFL Trade and Roster Rumors: Kasey Redfern Out of Season with Knee Injury
The Detroit Lions have lost another punter to injury.
The team is already playing without starting punter Sam Martin, but now his backup, Kasey Redfern, is expected to miss the rest of the season after he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), a torn medial collateral ligament (MCL), and a partially torn patellar tendon in his kicking leg during the Lions' 35–23 win over the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday. That's three torn ligaments.
"He's worked extremely hard, and has done a nice job for us. Was looking for him to have the kind of year he's shown he was (capable of) throughout the preseason. But if something like that happens, you have to have a contingency plan, which we did," Lions head coach Jim Caldwell said after the game, via MLive.com.
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It's a tough blow for Redfern and the Lions. Now they will have to find a replacement for Redfern until Martin gets back. Martin was placed on the active/non-football injury list as he continues to recover from an ankle injury, and he has to sit on the sidelines for the first six games of the season.
Kicker Matt Prater actually had to take over punting duties for the Lions after Redfern went down with the injury and he did a good job. However, the Lions need to find a full-time punter.
According to the Detroit Free Press, the Lions brought in punters Jeff Locke, Matt Darr, Richie Leone, Drew Butler and Matt Wile for workouts on Monday, and they are reportedly going to sign Locke once Redfern is placed on the injured reserve list.
Caldwell told reporters on Monday that whoever they sign should be able to step in and produce right away in spite of the fact that he's going to be joining the team on a short notice.
"It's just a matter of a guy doing his job, plain and simple. There are going to be some things he's not going to know right away. We can limit that but if he does his main job, that's what counts," he said, via ESPN.
