Late in yesterday's game against the Vikings, Ernie Sims suffered an injury that was serious enough to the point where you could hear him screaming.  Granted, he was right near one of the on-field microphones, but based on his reaction to what happened, you knew the injury was bad.  Just how bad?  Today Jim Schwartz called it a "fairly significant" injury to his shoulder, and he probably will miss at least a few weeks.  Schwartz didn't share a detailed timetable, but he did say that this isn't a day-to-day type of injury.

This is a big blow to the Lions' depth at linebacker, as they don't exactly have any truly experienced backups (the only silver lining is that some younger players will get a chance to play).  Chances are Jordon Dizon will fill in for Sims while he is injured, though I'd imagine DeAndre Levy will get a shot at playing as well.  He has been more of an inside linebacker so far with the Lions, but a lack of depth could provide him with an opportunity to play outside linebacker, especially if Dizon doesn't perform or something happens to him.