Detroit Lions

Haloti Ngata To Miss Time With Shoulder Injury

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Dec 13, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams running back Todd Gurley (30) stiff arms Detroit Lions defensive tackle Haloti Ngata (92) during the second half at the Edward Jones Dome. The Rams defeated the Lions 21-14. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Lions DT Haloti Ngata will be out a few weeks with a shoulder injury.

The Detroit Lions, already facing several critical injuries on the defense, got more bad news on Wednesday. Starting tackle Haloti Ngata will miss at least a couple of weeks with a shoulder injury.

Ngata left Sunday’s win over Philadelphia with the injury. It didn’t look serious but the medical prognosis isn’t so optimistic.

#Lions DT Haloti Ngata, who left last game with a shoulder injury, is still undergoing tests. But the expectation is he’s out 2-3 weeks.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 12, 2016

This leaves a giant hole in the middle of the Detroit defense. Ngata has been the most consistent presence along the front four all season. The 32-year-old has 1.5 sacks and 5 tackles on the season, as well as one pass defended.

The Lions defense is already shorthanded, with star end Ziggy Ansah and top linebacker DeAndre Levy both missing the vast majority of the 2016 season. Neither is expected back for this week’s home date with the Los Angeles Rams.

Rookie A’Shawn Robinson figures to get the bulk of Haloti Ngata’s work. Like Ngata, Robinson isn’t a great pass rusher but consistently keeps blockers busy and can anchor well inside against the run.

One thing we might see more of is Devin Taylor playing inside. The 6’7″, 270-pound Taylor slid inside for a couple of reps against the Eagles, allowing a speedier pass rushing package with newcomer Armonty Bryant to get on the field more.

Expect to see this against the Rams, who rank in the bottom five in sack percentage allowed, yards per play and yards per rush attempt with an offensive line that doesn’t play as the sum of its parts very often.