The Detroit Lions' defense fell off last season after morphing into one of the best units in the NFL in 2014.
The loss of Ndamukong Suh in free agency played a big part, but linebacker DeAndre Levy playing just 17 snaps all year was a massive a reason for last year's decline.
The linebacker suffered a hip injury last preseason and eventually underwent season-ending hip surgery. Fellow starting linebacker Tahir Whitehead said Levy, the sideline-to-sideline tackling machine, is recovering well this offseason.
"He's been looking really good," Whitehead said, via the Detroit Free Press. "I know the type of guy Lev is. I know he missed the game last year and he was going to work and get back, and what we've seen the last couple weeks is exactly that. He's worked to get back on the field with us."
Levy has participated in offseason workouts, which began last month, and is expected to be fully healthy by training camp.
While Suh garnered the headlines in 2014, Levy's ability to make tackles is close quarters as well as cover in space was invaluable. Two years ago Levy was one of the defenders that left Tom Brady exasperated during the Lions-Patriots tilt: "Those two guys, Suh and Levy, They're just everywhere," Brady said on the bench.
The Lions' defense needs second-round pick A'Shawn Robinson to make a big impact as a rookie, in order to hang with Green Bay and Minnesota in the NFC North, but getting Levy back healthy is a huge step in restoring the defensive roar.
