The Detroit Lions lost starting safety and team captain Tracy Walker III for the season on Sunday. And head coach Dan Campbell knows how big of a loss it is.

Campbell spoke to reporters on Monday following confirmation of the injury. He didn't mince words, either. The loss hurts, pure and simple.

“Losing Tracy hurts,” Campbell said. “That’s a significant loss because multiple reasons. I mean, Tracy’s been, since I walked in the door last year he’s been all in and he’s one of our team captains this year. Nobody’s put in more work than he has, since the spring. And he is one of the smartest players we have on defense, that’s huge, and he’s productive. And so you’re losing a big cog in the piece that helps you over there.”

It was a non-contact injury Walker suffered in the first quarter on Sunday. The Lions safety made his way over to the sidelines on his own power, but was soon carted off the field.

“There again, he’s one of the smartest players we have in the back end, so that hurts,” the Lions head coach said. “He’s a productive player and he’s really the quarterback of our secondary, so it hurts a little bit.”

JuJu Hughes took over at the safety position for Walker on Sunday. Campbell said Hughes was “solid” in the role, but the Lions will explore all their options to replace Walker.

One potential solution involves moving Will Harris back to safety. Campbell did not commit to the idea, but the Lions head coach did say it is something the team will discuss.

“We’ll talk about that,” Campbell said. “I don’t know if I see that move right now. We kind of like Will right where he’s at. If anything, he could get some more corner work. I don’t want to totally say he’s not getting the safety, but we think there’s a real good spot where he’s at right now that maximizes him and us, what he’s able to do for us.”