ALLEN PARK -- Alim McNeill is a glowing presence in an NFL locker room. He loves what he does. He doesn’t let himself have down days.
And on top of that, the Detroit Lions defensive lineman is dang good at his job. McNeill is set to make his return against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football, putting the bows on a 10-month recovery waiting for this moment.
“That’s all I have been doing, actually,” McNeill said on Thursday. “I’ll just be sitting at home, just visualizing making plays and stuff like that. So I see myself fitting in just fine -- being explosive, getting off blocks, creating pressure on the quarterback, you know, making plays in the backfield.
“That’s all I’ve been envisioning, and that’s the work I’ve been putting in to be able to do that. December 15, last year? Since the day it happened. And then after surgery, I had surgery January 2nd, and after that, I was just like, ‘all right, it’s time to go.’”
McNeill was a full participant at every practice last week. And he was back out there on Thursday as a full-go once again, signaling his return for Week 7.
The $97 million defensive lineman suffered a torn ACL against the Buffalo Bills last December. He underwent surgery in early January and spent most of his time in San Diego while rehabbing his knee.
Dan Campbell said McNeill has looked so good in practice that the offensive line hates him right now. The Lions coach said earlier that barring something unforeseen, “Alim’s freakin’ playing, man.”
Last week, McNeill said he was 100% ready and that the final phase of his return was just about going against someone in a different jersey.
“Just knowing me, and I don’t take things for granted at all. It’s for sure gonna be a huge moment,” McNeill said. “But just knowing me, it’s just gonna be another game day for me. I’m not gonna sit here and try to make a big deal out of it and all this and that.
“You know, people get hurt and come back all the time. So it’s like, why would I make a big deal out of it? Let’s just go play football. I know how I’m gonna be. I’m just gonna go out there and hoop and do what I do.”
McNeill is one of the best interior defenders in the game. He’s a beast against the rush and adds a level of versatility and pass-rushing skills that should boost the team’s play to another level.
Detroit’s defense is tied for third in the NFL with 19 team sacks to this point. Aidan Hutchinson leads the charge. He has created 36 pressures, per Pro Football Focus. Hutchinson also has a sack in five straight games and has forced a fumble in four consecutive contests.
“It’s going to be great,” Hutchinson said on Thursday. “It’s going to be so good to have him back. I know he can’t wait to be back. It’s going to be fun to watch, that’s all I know. And going to be playing beside each other on some reps, too. It’s going to be really great to get him back.”
And the feeling for McNeill is mutual. He’s been watching Hutchinson return to form, hoping to join him on that level. Hutchinson worked through a lengthy rehab process himself and has more than returned to form since getting all the way back.
“Yeah, we was already out there trying to get that chemistry back going,” McNeill said. “So, there’s a couple things that we were doing out there. Little head nods, little small stuff like that, we were trying to get going. But it’s gonna be fun. That’s an electric player to be beside.
“He elevates everybody beside him, around him.”
McNeill also makes his return ahead of the bye week. MLive asked if he viewed that as a positive in terms of evaluating his return and how everything holds up. But there is also the other side of that equation, returning to action to head right into a week without a game.
“I’ll be working out, doing different stuff though,” McNeill said. “But it might be a little bit of that and a plus at the same time. I get to get a game in and see how the game goes -- see how everything felt that week, kind of reassess what went on. But it could be both. But I’m going to be working out, so it’s not going to really feel like a bye week to me.”
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