Getty Amon-Ra St. Brown before a 2022 Lions game in Minnesota.
The Detroit Lions have been bitten hard by the injury bug so far this season, but there is starting to be a bit of good news building on the offensive side of the ball.
Wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown, who has been hobbled since an ankle injury he sustained in Week 3, practiced for the first time this week. That could put him perhaps on track to give it a go Sunday against New England.
ESPN’s Field Yates recapped where things are at with St. Brown, and as he said, while the practice return was good news, it’s yet to be determined if he will actually be able to play the game.
Lions HC Dan Campbell says WR Amon-Ra St. Brown will practice today for the first time this week. TBD if he plays on Sunday against the Patriots.
“Lions HC Dan Campbell says WR Amon-Ra St. Brown will practice today for the first time this week. TBD if he plays on Sunday against the Patriots,” Yates tweeted.
Certainly, St. Brown could still sit out Sunday, and give the ankle a full three weeks to rest up given Detroit is on a Week 6 bye. That might be the smartest course of action for the team to take.
Nevertheless, it’s good to see that St. Brown is coming back to the team and will be trying to test out the ankle. Whether he plays or not remains to be seen, but this is a positive step in the right direction for him.
Dan Campbell: St. Brown a ‘Spark Plug’ for Lions
Naturally, Campbell was thrilled by the news that St. Brown was able to practice and used his press conference to laud him for what he means to the team as well as his ability on the field.
“He’s a spark plug. He’s a leader.”
“Any time you can get a player like him back it helps. Not only for production. but what he brings. He’s a spark plug, he’s a leader. He’s a hardhat guy. He’s going to bring his lunch pail and go to work. Just to have him in any capacity would be very helpful,” Campbell said.
Just having St. Brown back to set the proper tone will be fantastic for the Lions. He’s the kind of player that can elevate the games of his teammates, which would be huge heading into a vital week on the field.
Lions Should Play It Safe With St. Brown
No matter whether the injury is serious or not, the Lions can play it safe with St. Brown and keep their young star on a pitch count so to speak so he does not aggravate it further.
Detroit is lucky enough to have the bye coming up in a few weeks, which will buy them some time with St. Brown and a lot of their other injured stars. It’s easy to see that the team will not be shutting down St. Brown at all given he is the ultimate gamer. Still, they should be cautious with their dominating young receiver given all he means to the offense.
When St. Brown was limited in Sunday’s game, Detroit’s offense seemed to take a nosedive. Not surprisingly, when St. Brown got back in the game, the Lions were able to move the ball and nearly put away a key win.
Hopefully, St. Brown can stay healthy, because he looks as if he is the driving force behind the Detroit offense so far this season. Having him completely healthy would be a huge variable the rest of the way.
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