Mandatory Credit: Imagn Images

Detroit Lions Injury News – Edge Ahmed Hassanein’s Rookie Season in Doubt After Suffering Pec Injury

Mandatory Credit: Imagn Images

The Detroit Lions took on the Miami Dolphins in their recent preseason game. While the Lions lost the game 24-17, the more pressing news for them is the injury suffered by rookie defensive end Ahmed Hassanein.

23-year-old Hassanein suffered a pectoral injury during a play in the third quarter when Dolphins’ tackle Ryan Hayes took him to the ground ferociously. Hassanein was tugged hard to the ground while the defender was struggling to get past Hayes, following which he remained down for nearly a minute as trainers came to his aid.

The former Boise State defender was then taken to the locker room for further evaluation and did not return for the remainder of the game. As per the update provided by head coach Dan Campbell, Hassanein has suffered a pec injury and he will be out for a while, although Campbell was unable to provide an estimated time frame for his return.

Some updates on Ahmed Hassanein and Khalil Dorsey pic.twitter.com/X6D9asGjUD
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) August 18, 2025

Who is Ahmed Hassanein?

Prior to the injury, Hassanein had been having a terrific training camp. The rookie defender was drafted by the Lions in the sixth round. Hassanein, who is an Egyptian-American, only came to the United States when he turned 18, but he immediately took to the sport.

He spent 4 years playing for the Boise State Broncos, but had his breakthrough season in 2023 when he finished with 12.5 sacks in 14 games and forced 2 fumbles as well. Last year, he again racked up 9.5 sacks as he continued his stellar college performances.

Dan Campbell is not sure if Ahmed Hassanein will return this season with a pec injury, per @PrideOfDetroit pic.twitter.com/aMZHjqhCmy
— 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔇𝔢𝔱𝔯𝔬𝔦𝔱 𝔗𝔦𝔪𝔢𝔰 📰 (@the_det_times) August 18, 2025

What Are the Options for the Lions?

Fighting for a place on the Lions’ roster as a depth player, Hassanein was looking good through training camp and preseason. But now with the extent of his injury unknown, Detroit will have to decide on how to proceed.

If the Lions believe that he can make a comeback after missing out on the start of the season, they can place him on the injured reserve list during the 53-man roster deadline date, and he would be eligible to make his return after the first four games.

If, however, Detroit feels that Hassanein won’t be able to recover for the majority of the season, they can place him on IR right now. That said, one positive update from Hassanein himself is the fact that he will not be required to undergo surgery, but needs time to heal completely.

Ahmed Hassanein said, "No surgery is needed." Great news for the young Lions edge rusher 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/z58MWl93D6
— DLFP (@DLFPtweets) August 18, 2025

With the regular season just around the corner, there is not much time left for the Lions to make a decision. Moreover, the 53-man roster deadline is set for August 26, which means Detroit has about a week’s time to come to a conclusion on their rookie’s future for this season.

Mandatory Credit: Imagn Images

Ahmed Hassanein

Ahmed Hassanein injury update

Detroit Lions

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Devavrat Kulkarni

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I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!