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Lions linebacker DeAndre Levy fears he might already have CTE.

(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)

ALLEN PARK -- Lions linebacker DeAndre Levy has been an outspoken critic of the NFL and its attempts to obfuscate the link between concussions and mental health.

That includes a series of Instagram posts where he's questioned the league over its continued employment of disgraced doctor Elliot Pellman, its reported attempts to influence concussion data, and owners such as the Colts' Jim Irsay comparing the risks of playing football to taking aspirin.

And now it appears he fears he has the disease himself.

Levy told Men's Journal that he is struggling with memory loss and having some difficulty reading out loud. Both of which are classic symptoms of CTE.

"It's frustrating," he told the magazine, "because you put your body on the line, and the people that you're working to make money for, they prioritize profit over the health of their greatest assets, and as a player that's troubling."

Levy has missed the last eight games with knee and quad issues, though has returned to practice this week. He likely won't play Sunday against Jacksonville, but could be on the field as soon as next week's Thanksgiving game against Minnesota.

So how will the Lions approach Levy's availability? Considering he believes he has CTE, what is the team's responsibility for managing his brain and long-term health?

Coach Jim Caldwell deferred to the team's medical staff.

"Like I've mentioned thousands of times before, coaches don't make those decisions. Those decisions are made by a team of medical experts that know far more than you or I -- that have studied it for years," Caldwell said before practice Friday. "It's what they do for a living. They take a look, and if they deem a player that's not capable or able to play for us without some difficulty in any way that brings harm to that player -- player safety is the No. 1 issue -- they will not allow him to walk out on the field.

"So that being the case, it's the exact same procedure we go through every single week with every single player from now until eternity. And I think our guys do a tremendous job making those assessments. Now, there may be some things that are unforeseen that don't show up for years or whatever it might be. Those things I think the good Lord has a hand in some of those things as well. But nevertheless, that's our end of the bargain, that we have to make certain we uphold from a medical standpoint. And like I said, I think our guys do a tremendous job of that."

Caldwell then quickly changed the subject to this week's captains -- Matthew Stafford, Matt Prater and Josh Bynes -- and then walked off the podium without taking follow ups.