An update on Lions' injury situation and how they could backfill potential Thanksgiving absences
Allen Park — Given the short turnaround between Sunday’s game and padding back up for Thursday’s matchup with the Chicago Bears, the Detroit Lions won’t be conducting traditional practices this week, opting instead for walkthroughs.
Coach Dan Campbell said the message to his team during Thanksgiving week is "rest, recovery and mental work."
“It's how fast can you recover, get your body right, get your mind focused on the job at hand because you're not going to get the physical (reps in practice),” Campbell said.
The reality is the Lions are in rough shape coming out of Sunday’s win over the Indianapolis Colts. Even though the team didn’t practice on Monday, the league required them to release an estimated injury report.
On that report, six players were projected to be sidelined. In addition to the four who had to miss snaps Sunday — running back David Montgomery, offensive tackle Taylor Decker, cornerback Carlton Davis III and return man Kalif Raymond — wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (knee) and defensive tackle DJ Reader (illness) were also listed.
“I've got the list right here and that's tough,” Campbell said. “I think there're probably three of them it'll be hard to get them there (active for the game). But it's really day-to-day. It really is. We're going to know a lot more about some of these guys tomorrow than we do today.
“It's going to come down to the wire with a number of them,” Campbell said. “That's the challenge with the short week. The good news is I think most of these are not some long-term thing, but three days to turn around and play, that's where it becomes a little bit of an issue.”
Campbell clarified the three who are least likely to play on Thursday are Davis, Decker and Raymond.
Raymond was the least surprising from that group. He was carted off with a foot injury after a punt return in the third quarter and Campbell told reporters after Sunday’s game it appeared the injury would sideline the special teams standout for a bit.
As for Davis, he suffered a knee injury when his leg got caught in the artificial turf at Lucas Oil Stadium. He could be seen gingerly testing it out on an exercise bike behind Detroit's bench during the second half and was still uncertain about his future status in the locker room after the matchup.
As for Decker, he hurt his knee and ankle when quarterback Jared Goff was shoved into the back of his leg. He missed the remainder of that offensive series but returned and played most of the rest of the game with his lower leg heavily taped.
“I don't like having extra tape if I don't need it,” Decker said. “Normally I don't really tape my ankles, I just spat (them). I was having to have ankle tape, moleskin straps, hard tape. It was just a lot of stuff and then spat over top of it. I just don't like my movement restricted. It felt a little funky, but it was good.”
If all three are ultimately ruled out, here’s the likely replacement plan at each spot.
Offensive tackle
Decker recently missed the team’s Week 10 matchup against Houston with a shoulder injury he suffered during that week of practice. So we have a pretty good idea about what the alternative looks like.
Veteran Dan Skipper has been the next man up at that spot all season and would be expected to continue in that role if Decker can’t go. The question is whether Skipper would line up at left or right tackle.
Skipper played left tackle against the Texans, but Campbell said with more time to prepare, the team would prefer shifting Penei Sewell to the blindside and starting the backup at right tackle.
Does this week qualify, especially if the team isn’t getting physical reps? That’s unclear.
Also, there’s a question about who would serve as Sewell and Skipper’s backup if Decker is sidelined. The Lions have two other offensive tackles on the 53-man roster — Colby Sorsdal and rookie Giovanni Manu — but opted to elevate and activate the more-experienced practice squad veteran Jamarco Jones against the Texans.
Cornerback
Based on what the team did against Indianapolis, where rookie Terrion Arnold had to miss the contest with a groin injury, Kindle Vildor remains the No. 3 option on the depth chart. But after a shaky showing against the Colts, there’s a question about how long his leash might be, especially with Emmanuel Mosely recently activated off injured reserve.
The Lions slow-played Moseley’s involvement in his season debut, limiting him to a handful of special teams snaps. I asked Campbell on Monday when he would be comfortable using the veteran corner in a defensive role. The answer: Now.
“He’s ready,” Campbell said. “This game yesterday was big. …I mean, really, he hadn’t played in two years, and to be able to go out there and know that, ‘OK, I can trust this, I can trust my body,’ he went out there, competed, did a good job on (special) teams for us. But yeah, I think he’s ready. I think he’s ready and we’re not afraid to use him.”
It would be surprising to see the Lions thrust Moseley into an every-down role given his lengthy layoff, but rotating him in for a few series against Chicago is seemingly in play.
As for Arnold, he was projected as a full participant on Monday's practice report, suggesting his absence will only be the one game.
Punt returner
A few weeks ago, undrafted rookie Isaiah Williams would have been the logical replacement for Raymond, but Williams was claimed off waivers by the Bengals when the Lions had to do some roster shuffling earlier this month.
One thing is clear, the Lions don’t need to be putting All-Pro receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown in that spot like they did down the stretch against the Colts, unnecessarily jeopardizing the health of the passing game’s key cog.
The logical answer would be someone off the practice squad, either Tom Kennedy or Maurice Alexander. The team re-signed Alexander in response to losing Williams.
Kennedy would probably be better suited to replace Raymond’s limited role on offense.
“We're prepared, like we always are, next man up,” Campbell said. “You've got to hold the line, do your job and go compete.”
I think they use Moseley as the slot CB where he won't have as many snaps and put Amik as outside CB like he was with the Raiders. Arnold would play CB on the other side and Vildor can stay on ST where he belongs.
Well, let's hope the Bears don't play too ruff since their season is about kaput.