DeAndre Levy undergoing hip surgery
The Detroit Lions are the only winless team in the National Football League. On Wednesday, the news only continued to get worse. Star middle linebacker DeAndre Levy will be undergoing hip surgery, an operation that could put him out for the rest of the season.
Blows keep coming: Lions LB DeAndre Levy will undergo hip surgery and could be out for the season.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 14, 2015
#Lions will wait 2-3 weeks before making a call on DeAndre Levy, who is having hip surgery. Could return for a month or more, could be on IR
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 14, 2015
Levy is one of the best linebackers in football, somebody who really came on last season to help Detroit make the playoffs in its first year under head coach Jim Caldwell. The Lions ranked second in defense only behind the Seattle Seahawks in 2014, helping them to an 11-5 record. Levy was perhaps the most underrated player on the team, with stars like Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson, Nick Fairley, Golden Tate and Ndamukong Suh dominating the headlines.
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Levy was able to amass a career-high 151 tackles last season after starting to show he was an elite player in 2013 when he recorded 119 tackles. Levy, 28, is in his seventh season after signing a four-year deal to remain with Detroit last year. Levy missed the first four games of this season with a hip injury before returning on Sunday and re-injuring himself.
With Suh and Fairley on different teams after departing via free agency, and Levy on the shelf for all but one games this season, it is not surprising the Lions are struggling so badly. The offense has done nothing to help the situation, with Stafford being benched last week after throwing a multitude of interceptions.