Romeo Okwara confirms Achilles surgery this week: ‘I’ll be back better than ever’

Detroit Lions edge defender Romeo Okwara became the second Lions defender to suffer a season-ending Achilles injury. Joining cornerback Jeff Okudah, Okwara went down in the first quarter of Sunday’s contest against the Chicago Bears and was ruled out for the game shortly thereafter.

Okwara was in the midst of a potential breakout season. Coming off a 10-sack season last year, Okwara had already shown signs that he had taken his play to the next level. Though he only had one sack through three games, he had generated 16 pressures, and his PFF score of 74.1 was the highest of his career.

On Monday, head coach Dan Campbell lamented the loss.

“I hate that for Romes, man,” Campbell said. “I’ll tell you what, man, the way he works and everything that he’s put into this, he’s a top-notch pro. I hate it for him and I hate it for our team.”

We haven’t heard directly from Okwara since the injury, but on Tuesday he posted an update on Instagram, noting that he’ll get surgery later this week. Here’s the full caption to his post:

“Getting surgery in a couple days... Hate that my season was cut short and I can’t be out there with my teammates, but I’ll be back better than ever.. Big thanks to everyone that reached out..

Of course, the road to recovery is never easy for an Achilles, and it may even be a year or two before we see Okwara back to normal (if ever). Still, it’s good to see a positive attitude from the 26-year-old.

• There were a couple of nice film breakdowns of the Lions’ biggest concerns right now. Justin Rogers of the Detroit News explored the secondary breakdowns over the first four games and what is causing them ($). Meanwhile, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press examined the Lions’ short-yardage issues ($).

• Remember our rankings of the Detroit Lions’ roster in the offseason? Well, the Lions are currently missing a lot of the top guys on that list (and you can temporarily add No. 2 T.J. Hockenson, too.):

• Looking ahead to the 2022 NFL Draft already? ESPN already has draft order projections available. The Lions are currently projected to land the second overall pick, but have a 22.9 percent chance to land the top pick, per their model.

• The Lions’ latest installment of “Women in Football” followed Ellen Trudell, who is often behind some of the charitable endeavors of the franchise as the Corporate Communications Manager.

• Check out my latest piece for the Associated Press: Dan Campbell keeps rolling the dice, but it’s not working yet.

• Speaking of charitable endeavors, good job, Jared Goff: