DeAndre Levy

DeAndre Levy placed on Lions' active/NFI list

The Detroit Lions placed weak-side linebacker DeAndre Levy on the active/NFI list.

What It Means:

Levy is still recovering from hip surgery that forced him to miss all but one game of the 2015 season. Despite Levy's absence — he watched Friday's practice in a baseball cap and hoodie — head coach Jim Caldwell is still convinced Levy will have a major role on defense this year. "We just kind of want to be careful with him and just make certain he’s ready to go," said Caldwell. "At this point in time we want to be a little bit prudent in terms of how we deal with it."

The Lions ranked 26th in Adjusted Defensive Net Expected Points (NEP) in 2015. They are still just one year removed from a top-five finish in our defensive metrics (fourth in 2014). If he's healthy, our algorithms project Levy for 84.45 tackles in 2016.