Hobbled Lions See More Significant Starters Absent to Start Week 5

The Detroit Lions are trying to claw to the bye week as quickly as they can in order to try and establish some health, but before that, they have one more game to go.

Based on some of the early returns from practice on Wednesday, October 5, it doesn’t seem as if the team is going to be getting healthy in the short-term. Multiple big-name players were resting to start the week, and not spotted at practice.

Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com had the rundown, and there were some major names included, most of which were out last week.

“Dan Campbell said a number of players would sit out practice Wednesday. That list included: Swift, Chark, St. Brown, Hockenson, Reynolds, Ragnow, Brown, Cephus, Cominsky and Board. Jonah Jackson, Josh Paschal, Jerry Jacobs and Austin Seibert were taking part in open period Wed,” Twentyman tweeted.

While it’s not surprising to see several of the names included, it is good to see some of the returns, most notably Josh Paschal, Jonah Jackson and Jerry Jacobs, all of whom have been missing and would mean a great deal to return in the near future.

While the players were out, the absences could be due to rest. The only thing left to do the rest of the week is see if that ends up being the case for the Lions or not with the injury reports.

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Lions Week 5 Injury Report

Here’s a look at how the injuries stack up for the Lions to start this week. Once again, it’s another deep list for the team, with multiple starters both limited and out of the lineup.

Chris Board, LB. No practice (Knee)

Evan Brown, C. No practice (Ankle)

Quintez Cephus, WR. No practice (Foot)

DJ Chark, WR. No practice (Ankle)

John Cominsky, DL. No practice (Wrist)

T.J. Hockenson, TE. No practice (Hip)

Frank Ragnow, C. No practice (Foot)

Josh Reynolds, WR. No practice (Ankle)

Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR. No practice (Ankle)

D’Andre Swift, RB. No practice (Shoulder/Ankle)

Kayode Awosika, G. Limited practice (Hamstring)

Taylor Decker, T. Limited practice (Knee)

Jonah Jackson, G. Limited practice (Finger)

Matt Nelson, T. Limited practice (Calf)

Austin Seibert, K. Limited practice (Right Groin)

The rest of the week, it will be important to watch and see how many players return or not, and how much they are able to do. The Lions have to make a decision about who plays and what role they will play, especially heading into the bye in Week 6.

Obviously, the sheer number of players on the list is troubling for the Lions, who have tons of injury issues right now.

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Lions Hope for Moderate Health This Week

Against the Patriots, the Lions shouldn’t be rushing everyone back to action unless they are completely ready to go.

Instead of doing that, the team should hope that they can get back the players who make the most sense. A good start would be Jonah Jackson, a player who has been out for the last few weeks but could use the week before the bye to get back in rhythm, then get some rest during his time off.

In terms of the team’s players who got reps last week, it might be beneficial for the team to keep them in the mix and growing with the team while letting the injured players find a way to heal up.

At the very least, it’s another shaky start to the week in terms of health for the Lions worth watching.

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