Report: Jeff Okudah suffers ruptured Achilles, ending his season

Jeff Okudah’s second season is over just as soon as it started.

According to a report from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the third overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft has suffered a ruptured Achilles that will cost him the entire season.

Okudah suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of the Lions’ loss to the 49ers. After the game, head coach Dan Campbell feared that Okudah’s injury could be season-ending.

“We know obviously it’s somewhere around the ankle, could be Achilles,” Campbell said.

It’s a brutal development for the 22-year-old cornerback. Okudah has a good training camp, was developing as a leader in the Lions secondary, and despite giving up a 79-yard touchdown in the season opener had showed some signs of development.

Now, for the second straight season, Okudah will land on the injured reserve list and spend another offseason rehabbing a tough injury. Last year, he dealt with a groin injury that required core surgery in the offseason. Okudah said he believed the injury was one of the best things that could happen to him after a rough rookie year.

“Instead of looking at this like a negative thing, embrace it. I love it,” Okudah told The Daily Stoic podcast this offseason. “I love that I got surgery because now that gives me a chance to improve things that I probably wouldn’t have improved if I didn’t have to get surgery.”

Let’s hope Okudah has the same positive attitude for the many months of rehab again and can come back next summer looking like the player the Lions believe they drafted.