ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- DeAndre Levy is going to make his season debut Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.
The Detroit Lions' outside linebacker has missed the first four games of the season with a hip injury, but in naming Levy a game captain Sunday, Lions coach Jim Caldwell also essentially said Levy is going to be healthy enough to play.
"I would assume you could probably make that assumption," Caldwell said.
Levy would automatically boost a Detroit defense that has started to play better but has still struggled during the first month of the season. Levy is one of the best coverage linebackers in the NFL and is also Detroit's top defensive player.
The 28-year-old led the NFL in solo tackles last season with 117 and was second in total tackles with 151. In 2013, he was tied for second in the league with six interceptions. He signed a four-year contract extension with Detroit in the preseason.
Caldwell said he doesn't wonder what could have been had Levy been healthy and available the first month of the season.
"I'm not built that way. I'm not constructed that way," Caldwell said. "So it's not difficult for me at all."
The Lions are 0-4 entering Sunday -- the last winless team in the league -- and struggled covering the middle of the field the first two weeks of the season against the San Diego Chargers and Minnesota Vikings.
Caldwell said Josh Bynes, who has played every snap the past two weeks, will still have a role in Detroit's defense even with the return of Levy. Caldwell wouldn't say where Bynes will play or how much he'll play Sunday against the Cardinals.