Last season, the Detroit Lions welcomed back defensive lineman Alin McNeill in Week 7 after he completed his recovery from a torn ACL that he suffered the previous season. His stats upon returning weren’t as strong as they normally would be, as he would ultimately finish with 14 tackles, 1.0 sack and 23 total pressures in 10 games played.
But the Lions are hoping for bigger and better things from McNeill in 2026, and based on what he had to say this week, it sounds like that stands a good chance of happening.
Detroit Lions Defensive Lineman Alim McNeill Puts The Rest Of The NFL On Notice
Earlier in the week at OTA’s, McNeill explained to reporters that he’s feeling much more like his old self again, both physically and mentally.
“I felt like (I was) me personally, mentally and everything,” he said. “It’s just, you know how the body works. It takes time for stuff to come back a little bit and some stuff was not there. No matter how hard I tried to do certain stuff, it just wasn’t there yet. It’s here now. So I’m not really thinking about last year at all honestly.”
“I’m me again now. (I’ve been) explosive and been able to do what I need to do. It’s (a) night and day difference between last year and now.”
Thankfully, it sounds like the mental aspect of the game is returning to normal for McNeill as well.
“Overall, strength and being able to connect the mind and body,” he said. “My brain being able to know this leg is good and I can step and plant here. It’s more mental and neurological.”
This season, McNeill plans on creating more pressure from the interior, which will go a long way for Detroit’s defense this season as they aim to return to the NFL playoffs for the first time since 2025.
“If you don’t have an inside rush, it doesn’t matter what you do,” McNeill said. “It’s what I’m here to do and what I’m going to do.”
Meanwhile, McNeill believes that the motivation factor for the Lions will be high after missing the postseason and seeing their two-year reign atop the NFC North Division standings come to a close.
“(Missing the playoffs) just kind of humbled us in a way,” McNeill said. “(Improving) was going to be our focus regardless whether we won the Super Bowl last year or we didn’t. We were going to come back. We were going to be ready to go this year regardless. But yeah, 1,000% (it helped motivation). It just added that much more. We know what’s at stake. We know what type of players we have, what coaches we have. We know we have a high standard for ourselves here and we just didn’t live up to that, but we’re going to, so I’m not worried.”
The Lions Believe Alim McNeill Can Have A Bounce Back Year
According to Lions assistant general manager Ray Agnew, McNeill can have a great bounce back season.
“I think Alim will have a great year. I think he’ll have a bounce-back year,” Agnew said. “Usually the ACL, it’s the second year you come back where you’re fully healthy. I expect great things out of him.”
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