The Detroit Lions were dealt a major blow after Week 2 when CJ Gardner-Johnson suffered a pectoral injury that was expected to potentially end his season. But, not so fast. Head coach Dan Campbell doubled down on the possibility that his star safety could return before the campaign concludes in January.

Via Dave Birkett:

“Dan Campbell reiterates “there's a chance” CJ Gardner-Johnson will return this year. CJ is having surgery on his pec, Campbell said it's “a very clean injury.”

The Lions just placed Gardner-Johnson on the IR, which means he'll miss s minimum of four games. There's fear he completely tore his pec, so it will be a while until we see him on a football field again.

On Tuesday, Campbell first said he believes Gardner-Johnson has a chance to play again in 2023 but also expressed his belief in Tracy Walker to step up in the secondary:

“I hate it for (Gardner-Johnson). That’s tough, but we’ll see where this thing goes,” Campbell said. “There’s a chance he comes back this season. Listen, we’ve got Tracy, man. That’s why Tracy Walker’s here. He’s somebody that there’s a reason why we wanted to re-sign him, he was coming off injury, and it’s next man up. Here we go.”

CJ Gardner-Johnson signed a one-year deal worth $8 million with the Lions in the offseason and was expected to be a key player for them. He has 13 tackles and two pass breakups through a pair of games.

Detroit will be looking to bounce back from a loss to the Seahawks when they face the Atlanta Falcons in Week 3.