ALLEN PARK – When the Detroit Lions held their exit meetings last season, the locker room was an emotional scene to witness.
Some players quickly came and went after cleaning out their lockers, while others were too emotional to talk, still reeling from their divisional-round loss to the Washington Commanders the day before.
Spirits brightened a bit, however, when Alim McNeill — just a few weeks removed from tearing his ACL — trotted into the locker room on crutches to lift his teammates and speak with reporters. The young defender told MLive he caught an Uber to the facility just to be around his teammates.
That dedication to being there for his teammates helped fuel a faster recovery, as McNeill put in the extra work to get back on the field and help the Lions chase their Super Bowl dreams. He returned to the lineup right before the bye week, and since then, his presence has been felt — bolstering a young Lions defense in need of its key interior lineman alongside D.J. Reader.
As part of our weekly series, MLive caught up with McNeill to discuss where the Lions might host their parade should they win the Super Bowl, his baseball background, and which quarterback has given him the toughest challenge.
**You have a baseball background (right fielder). Which is harder: hitting the fastball or taking down a mobile QB, and why?**
Hitting the fastball. It depends on who you’re going against, too — the level of the speed. It’s just so much harder to see. Time of day matters, the lights are super bright in the outfield. It’s a lot harder to hit a fastball than to tackle a mobile quarterback.
**You’ve been in the league, been in Detroit a little bit. I know when you first got here you were talking about trying to find spots like Captain Jays. Now that you’re a little more seasoned, what’s your number one spot to go to?**
My number one spot is actually 220 in Birmingham. It’s a restaurant in Birmingham — 220. I’d have to go with that.
**Why do you like 220?**
They just have a good variety of options, I’d say. And their food is just good. Everything is good. I haven’t had anything bad since I went there. I’d have to say 220.
**Of the defensive linemen, who do you think is the fastest and why?**
Of the D-linemen? As far as interior — me. I think I’m the fastest, absolutely. And just because that’s what I do. Speed and quickness — that’s me. Long speed, 10-yard burst — every free race in 10 yards, I’m winning that hands down.
**Who is one player that when you were trying to sack them, you thought you had your hands on them and they slipped out — you were like, how the heck did they get away?**
Last year, Josh Allen — the game I got hurt, actually. Josh Allen — he slipped, right? I’m talking about, I thought I had him dead to rights, and he stayed up like nobody was on him. It was definitely Josh Allen.
**And last one. Let’s just say you guys go ahead and run the table and win the Super Bowl. Where would you want that parade to be at? I mean, it’s a lot of options — down Woodward, Belle Isle — where do you think it should be?**
That’s a good point. Belle Isle would be... I don’t know. That actually would not work because if we win the Super Bowl, you know how many people in Michigan are going to be in that parade? So I don’t think Belle Isle would work. It’d have to be downtown. That’s the only option. It’s the only amount of space that’s big enough. It’d have to be downtown. Belle Isle would be fire, but not enough space.
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