Getty T.J. Hockenson stiff arms a Bears defender and fights for extra yardage.
It’s been a tough couple weeks for the Detroit Lions in terms of injuries, and the sky continues to fall in some tough ways for the team as they push toward a second straight divisional matchup in Week 5.
The Lions watched as they lost both defensive end Romeo Okwara and center Frank Ragnow in Week 4. While Ragnow’s injury should be able to be overcome in season, Okwara was lost for the year. That’s a definite blow for the team’s overall depth. This week, the news remains bad for the Lions as they have picked up a couple of new injury cases to key players.
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How does the injury report look to start another week? Here’s a look at the cases to watch ahead of another divisional battle for the Lions.
Lions Week 5 Injury Report vs. Vikings
Brockers, Williams and Swift have been on the injury report in previous weeks, so it feel as if both of them will be alright. Dan Campbell has said he figures the Lions could get Trey Flowers back, and even if they don’t for Week 5, he seems to be trending in the right direction for the future. The worst cases this week revolve around Hockenson and Sewell, both of whom make an entry on the injury report for the first time this year. Given the struggles of the Lions’ offensive front at staying healthy, Sewell would be a huge loss. The same could be said for Hockenson given the team’s struggles with scoring so far this year.
Lions vs. Vikings Primer
The Lions and Vikings meet up for the first time in 2021 with both teams not having hot starts to the season. The Vikings are 1-3, and while they have looked decent at times, they’ve struggled with consistency perhaps as much as the Lions so far. Detroit is 0-4, and is looking for anything good to happen early in the season considering their desperate state through the first month of play.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Vikings would figure to have a big advantage given the fact that the Lions have struggled to stop them in the past and have only gotten younger and more dinged up on offense. Defensively, the Lions will be challenged as well given the strength of the Vikings at rushing the passer and shutting off the run.
Given the team’s injury struggles, the Lions will be challenged to win this game, and that will only be more of the case if they are forced to go without two of their bigger stars on offense.
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