Getty Amon-Ra St. Brown runs against the Vikings in 2022.
The Detroit Lions are coming off a very frustrating Week 5 performance on the road, but there is some good news in that the team gets to slip away for a bit.
An early-season bye week is typically not a cause for celebration for some teams, but in Detroit, just the opposite is the case. The Lions have been decimated by injury to start the season, and the bye is coming at a welcome time for Detroit.
Even after playing in Week 5, wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown was cognizant of that fact, and spoke about the impact having some time off will have on his ankle.
“I think it’s going to help me a lot for sure, especially the type of injury that I have. They’ll kind of linger if you keep going, so just giving it a rest,” he said. “I knew I had this this bye week coming up, so that’s why it made sense for me to go. There’s a lot of other guys on our team that I feel like can use this bye week with the injuries that we have. I don’t think it can come at a better time.”
St. Brown may have still been feeling the effects of the injury during the game. He caught only four passes for 18 yards and wasn’t a huge part of the game plan most of the day. As he said, easing back was a big of a challenge.
“I didn’t really practice all week, I ran ran some routes but not too much. I didn’t practice too much, but I felt 85 (percent), so I thought I’d give it a go,” St. Brown said.
Perhaps the next time he is on the field, St. Brown and his teammates will feel very confident given the fact that time will be on their side to heal some of the injuries they have sustained so far.
Dan Campbell Feels Blessed With Lions’ Bye
St. Brown isn’t the only one who realizes how the timing of the Detroit bye could help be an advantage for the team. Dan Campbell spoke about this factor last week, and as he said, it’s a major blessing for the team to have things play out this way in 2022.
Speaking with the media including Dannie Rogers of DetroitLions.com, Campbell lamented that a higher power may have been taking care of the Lions this year with regards to timing.
“The good Lord is looking after us.” Dan Campbell on the timing of the bye week coming after week 5 vs Patriots. Says Lions will get back a significant amount of really good players after the bye,” Rogers tweeted.
If the Lions can get multiple top players back for Week 7, that could prove to be a huge advantage for them as they try to right a sinking ship this season. It’s still early for the Lions, though, and a restful bye could be a big advantage according to the staff.
Lions Might See Return of Multiple Top Players
In terms of who might come back healthy after the bye week, the list could be long for the Lions, considering the team has fought injury struggles most of this season on the field.
When the week begins, the Lions could have multiple big-name players returning to action. Running back D’Andre Swift is one such player, in addition to wideouts DJ Chark and Quintez Cephus. Names like Evan Brown, Jonah Jackson and Frank Ragnow should also benefit from time off to cure their bumps and bruises.
On the defensive side, the Lions could benefit from the return of John Cominsky if he recovers from surgery enough to make an impact. Charles Harris could use the time away to heal a nagging groin injury, and Detroit’s entire defensive backfield could seemingly use a week off for health.
Add it up and the Lions could come back off the bye week a changed team. That likely wouldn’t be a surprise to St. Brown at all.
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