ALLEN PARK — After suffering a [season-ending ACL tear last November](https://www.mlive.com/lions/2024/11/lions-lose-linebacker-for-season-add-pro-bowl-talent-to-fill-gap.html), Detroit Lions’ linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez is still quite a ways away from his return to the field.
Coach Dan Campbell shared a conservative timeline for Rodriguez to get back on the field for the Lions after having his junior season cut short in Week 13.
“He’s not going to be starting the season out. Conservatively, November,” Campbell told reporters on Thursday. “That’s probably the best way to say it, probably November, somewhere in there.”
As the Lions wrap up their Organized Team Activities (OTAs) on Thursday, a cautious guess for Rodriguez returning in November is fitting with a typical recovery timeline for an ACL tear.
Fellow Lion Jameson Williams dealt with an ACL tear he suffered in the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship game with Alabama and he returned to the field 10 months and three weeks later for Detroit.
Not every rehab is the same — some players like Tyler Higbee and Kyler Murray have recently spent 11 months or more away — but that could line Rodriguez up around late October to early November.
The 2022 sixth-round draft pick out of Oklahoma State played in 43 games over his first three seasons in the league, including 24 starts at linebacker. He’s totaled 151 tackles and three sacks to this point in his career.
The Lions began leaning more on Rodriguez last season after dealing with injuries to fellow linebackers Alex Anzalone, Derrick Barnes, and Jalen Reeves-Maybin, before he was added to the list and declared out for the season.
Jack Campbell made it through all 18 games last season at linebacker, but he also [required a minor offseason procedure](https://www.mlive.com/lions/2025/06/lions-easing-first-round-lb-back-into-action-after-minor-offseason-procedure.html).
Getting a healthy linebacker group back, even by midseason, would be major for the Lions in 2025 after such turmoil last season.