The Detroit Lions‘ battle with injuries has been frustrating this season. In Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers, the injury list involved two more players from different sides of the ball. The Pro Bowl wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and cornerback Ennis Rakestraw suffered ankle injuries, leaving the franchise to monitor their status heading into practice this week.
When Dan Campbell held a press conference this morning, he delivered an encouraging update about their injury situation, implying they are doing well.
“Saints (Amon-Ra St. Brown) doing good. Ennis is doing good. Going to hold them out of practice,” said coach Campbell. “We’re going to do a walkthrough and then roll right into practice for a little bit here.”
“So, just kind of, you know, it goes all in one. I think those guys will be at walkthrough, but I don’t see them out there during the practice portion,” he added. “I’m going to hold a couple of other guys back just to get them off their feet, but they’ll be at walkthrough.”
Based on the latest update, the injuries of both Lions players are minor, which is why they are in regular walkthroughs today while skipping the on-field reps, taking a cautious approach to make both of them game-day ready when the team faces the Minnesota Vikings in Week 8.
Amon-Ra St. Brown Played Through Injury As Ennis Rakestraw Exited The Field Against The Packers
Amon-Ra St. Brown is one of the engines of the Lions offense. The All-Pro is a key starter for Dan Campbell, so not starting him in the divisional game against the NFC North leader, the Vikings, would be a crushing blow. The 26-year-old has played all 6 games this campaign.
Despite sustaining a minor ankle injury last Sunday, Brown played through the entire Packers game, making an impact. With 9 catches and 153 receiving yards, he amassed the best number of this season, even though he missed out on having a touchdown. However, his injury became more apparent after the game finished.
On the other hand, Ennis Rakestraw’s injury happened in the middle of the fourth quarter when he tweaked his ankle while attempting to defend a pass to the Packers WR Christian Watson. Unlike St Brown, the young CB was unable to continue and left the field immediately. While his injury during the game looked concerning as he had to be sidelined, it is not long-term.
Besides the two players, several other key names sat out for the practice on Wednesday.
Lions Hold Key Names Out Of Wednesday Practice
While providing an update on Amon Ra St Brown and Ennis Rakestraw, Dan Campbell also added that some other Lions stars would miss the open practice in a calculative approach to keep some guys to “get them off their feet.
Not seen during the open part of practice:
– RB Jahmyr Gibbs – WR Amon-Ra St Brown – OT Penei Sewell – DL DJ Wonnum – DL Aidan Hutchinson – DT Alim McNeill – DL Tyleik Williams
The other top names to sit out for the Wednesday practice are: Jahmyr Gibbs, Penei Sewell, DJ Wonnum, Tyleik Williams, Alim McNeill, Aidan Hutchinson. An additional rest day would give the team’s most important players time to recover without rushing back into action, keeping them fresh for the rest of the practice sessions this week.
Lions HC Gives Amon-Ra St. Brown and Ennis Rakestraw Injury News