Detroit Lions injury update – Page 37

Lions vs. Bengals: Final injury report for the Week 6 matchup

No players are ruled out but 4 Lions are questionable for Sunday’s game at Ford Field

After a week with a crowded injury report, the Detroit Lions did not rule any players out for the Week 6 matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals. But four players, including the top two running backs, are questionable for Sunday’s game at Ford Field.

Both D’Andre Swift (groin) and Jamaal Williams (hip) are officially questionable for the Week 6 game. They were both limited participants in Friday’s practice in Allen Park. Williams did not practice on Thursday with an illness designation in addition to the hip. Swift has been designated as questionable for every week but has not missed a game or appeared limited with the ongoing groin injury.

Tight end T.J. Hockenson (knee) and outside linebacker Trey Flowers (knee) are also questionable. Both were limited participants all week.

Left guard Jonah Jackson and cornerback Amani Oruwariye carry no injury designation for the game. Both were full participants on Friday after being limited earlier in the week.

Corey Ballentine was placed on IR on Friday, which removes him from the report. Ballentine did not practice on either Wednesday or Thursday with a hamstring issue.

Bengals

Guard D’Ante Smith is the only Bengals player ruled out. Smith will miss the game with a knee injury. He is expected to go on injured reserve.

Three players are questionable, including offensive guard Jackson Carman. He gets a non-injury-related designation after being activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list late this week. Carman is the projected starter at right guard. Top RB Joe Mixon (ankle) and WR Mike Thomas (ankle) are also questionable.

Taylor Decker doesn’t practice, unlikely to be activated for Week 6

Decker has been designated for return from IR but it doesn’t appear that will happen before Sunday’s game against the Bengals

The Detroit Lions have made it clear that starting left tackle Taylor Decker will return soon, but it appears Decker won’t make his 2021 season debut in Week 6.

The Lions designated Decker for return from injured reserve this week. The team has 21 days (now 19) to activate Decker from the IR and onto the 53-man roster. And it looked promising for Sunday’s matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals after Decker took part in practices on Wednesday and Thursday this week.

Now, those hopes seem remote. Still wearing a club on his injured left index finger, Decker sat out on Friday. Head coach Dan Campbell didn’t rule Decker out but also refused to commit to getting the veteran left tackle on the field right away.

“He’s been getting used to it,” Campbell said before Friday’s practice. “He went out there Wednesday, kind of had a bigger club (on his hand), if you will, and then we reduced it Thursday and got him some reps. It’s hard to say right now (Decker’s availability for Sunday). We’ll do some more today and then see where we’re at.”

But at the practice on Friday, Decker was not in uniform and did nothing more than the stretching drills with the team. Based on that inactivity and what Campbell said before practice, it sure seems unlikely that Decker will play against the Bengals.

That would leave the current status quo of rookie Penei Sewell at left tackle and young Matt Nelson on the right side, with veteran Will Holden as the primary backup.

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Lions injury report: Jamaal Williams sits out, 3 others return to action

Williams sat out after being limited on Wednesday, while 3 Lions who missed Wednesday came back as limited on Thursday

The Lions practice injury report changed quite a bit from Wednesday to Thursday in advance of the Week 6 meeting with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Running back Jamaal Williams did not practice on Thursday. He was listed with both a hip injury and an illness designation. Williams was limited in Wednesday’s session.

Three Lions who were out on Wednesday returned to practice as limited participants. Defensive end Trey Flowers (knee), tight end T.J. Hockenson (knee) and cornerback Amani Oruwariye (hip) all came back. They joined fellow limited participants LG Jonah Jackson (shoulder) and RB D’Andre Swift (groin).

Cornerback and return man Corey Ballentine remains out from both practices with a hamstring issue.

The final injury report for Sunday’s game comes out after Friday’s practice in Allen Park.

Lions injury tracker: All the players on injured reserve entering Week 6

The updated Detroit Lions injury tracker includes 8 players who would be starters currently on IR

It’s been a very rough season for the Detroit Lions. Winless through five weeks, the team has suffered through a nasty wave of injuries to key players. And the list keeps growing.

Last week’s sobering look at how many players are unavailable to the team due to either injury or dead cap has expanded, unfortunately. Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow will miss the rest of the season with a toe injury that required surgery. He was out for Week 5 as well but now officially joins the throng of Lions on the IR list.

Here’s the updated cadre of Lions either on the IR or non-football injury reserved lists as of October 13th:

Taylor Decker, starting left tackle
Frank Ragnow, starting center
Tyrell Williams, starting wide receiver
Quintez Cephus, starting wide receiver (in place of Williams)
Tyrell Crosby, offensive tackle (would start in place of Decker)
Tim Boyle, backup quarterback
Romeo Okwara, starting outside linebacker
Jeff Okudah, starting cornerback
Ifeatu Melifonwu, starting CB (in place of Okudah)
Da’Shawn Hand, defensive end
Kevin Strong, defensive end
Joel Heath, defensive end
Shaun Dion Hamilton, linebacker
Charlie Taumopeau, tight end (NFI)
Hunter Bryant, tight end (NFI)

That’s eight different players who would be starting right now, six of them regular projected starters. The list includes the team’s two best offensive linemen, the top wideout, the No. 1 and No. 2 cornerbacks and the WR leader in receiving yards after five games.

Frank Ragnow out for the season after toe surgery

Ragnow is having surgery on his turf toe and will miss the rest of the 2021 season

Bad news on the Detroit Lions injury front. Per the NFL Network, Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow will require surgery on his injured toe and will miss the remainder of the 2021 season.

Ragnow suffered the injury, commonly known as “turf toe”, in the Week 4 loss to the Chicago Bears. He was placed on injured reserve last week and there was some optimism the team’s top lineman could return before the end of the year.

It’s a huge blow for the winless Lions. Ragnow was Pro Football Focus’ top-rated center in the NFL through the first four weeks. Evan Brown has replaced him in the lineup.

The surgery should allow Ragnow to be ready for the start of the 2022 NFL season. Detroit can surely use him after making him the highest-paid center in the league with a recent contract extension.

Dan Campbell on Tyrell Williams potential return: ‘It’s off in the distance’

“That doesn’t look good right now. I would say that’s still off in the distance for sure, ” Campbell stated when asked for a possible timetable on Williams’ return.

Any hope that the Detroit Lions wide receiving corps could get the much-needed bolster from veteran Tyrell Williams in Week 6 has been dashed. After offering a glimmer of optimism about a possible return from Williams on Monday, Lions head coach Dan Campbell squashed it on Tuesday morning.

“We’ll know more on Tyrell after tomorrow, as well,” Campbell said on Monday, leading to some optimism that the top wideout could begin his comeback process. But that is not in the cards.

In a radio appearance on 97.1 The Ticket in Detroit, Campbell revealed that the progress back from a serious concussion suffered in Week 1 will keep Williams out through this week, and perhaps longer.

“That doesn’t look good right now. I would say that’s still off in the distance for sure, ” Campbell stated when asked for a possible timetable on Williams’ return.

Williams played just 35 snaps in the opener against the San Francisco 49ers. He has not even participated in the required noncontact practice session to even begin coming out of the NFL’s concussion protocol. With such a lengthy time out due to the concussion, it unfortunately seems like this could be a brain injury that impacts Williams for a long time.

The good news is that Campbell did not offer any discouraging words on the possible return of left tackle Taylor Decker, who has not played this season with a finger injury.

Quintez Cephus headed to IR with a broken shoulder

WR Quintez Cephus headed to IR with a broken shoulder suffered in Week 5

The injury bug continues to attack the Detroit Lions. In Week 5, it bit starting wide receiver Quintez Cephus.

Cephus is headed to the injured reserve list with a broken collarbone suffered in Sunday’s 19-17 loss in Minnesota against the Vikings. He was injured on his third catch of the first half, landing awkwardly on the sideline and staying down. He was taken to the training room via a cart.

A broken collarbone typically carries a 6-week recovery if no surgery is needed, and can take up to four months if surgery is required. It is unknown yet if Cephus will need corrective surgery.

The second-year wideout has emerged as one of the Lions’ top offensive threats. Veteran Tyrell Williams remains on IR with a concussion suffered in Week 1.

Quintez Cephus leaves the Lions game vs. Vikings with shoulder injury

Cephus is questionable to return with a shoulder injury

Detroit Lions wide receiver Quintez Cephus headed to the locker room early before halftime. Cephus was in obvious distress after being tackled on the sideline on the Lions final drive of the first half.

Cephus injured his shoulder on the play, a great third-down catch-and-run where he juked veteran CB Patrick Peterson with a great move before getting bowled over at the sideline. After remaining down on the Lions sideline, Cephus was walked to the training room.

The team officially ruled Cephus’ return as questionable with the shoulder injury. He had three receptions on as many targets for 38 yards in the first half, all of which led the Lions.

Dan Campbell offers optimistic update on T.J. Hockenson and Penei Sewell for Week 5

Hockenson and Sewell have both been limited in practices all week but could play vs. the Vikings

With a plethora of injured players, the Detroit Lions are already quite shorthanded entering Week 5. So when coach Dan Campbell offers up some positive news on a couple of the walking wounded and their chances for playing in Minnesota on Sunday, it’s a very welcome development.

Campbell had an optimistic tone on both starting offensive tackle Penei Sewell and Pro Bowl tight end T.J. Hockenson. Both players have been either out or limited in practices all week, but Campbell indicated both Hockenson (knee) and Sewell (ankle) are improving in their injury statuses and have a chance to play on Sunday.

The official injury report will be released later on Friday following the final practice of the week. Expect both Hockenson and Sewell to be listed as questionable for Sunday’s NFC North matchup with the Vikings.

The Lions are spending almost half their salary cap on players unavailable for Week 5

The Detroit Lions are spending almost half their salary cap on players unavailable for Week 5 due to either injuries or dead cap room

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The Detroit Lions were unlikely to win many games in 2021 thanks to the franchise overhaul that left the team thin on talent at a lot of spots. The new regime flushing away the vestiges of the failed Bob Quinn/Matt Patricia era was always going to take some time and leave the Lions shorter on talent than most foes.

But through four weeks, the Lions are also facing an additional barrier to winning. The injuries have been catastrophic to the team’s chances to compete. And the list keeps getting longer and more critical by the week, unfortunately.

It comes at a cost. The Lions are currently paying $32.4 million in 2021 cap room to players who enter Week 5 on injured reserve. Because the Lions carried over unused cap room from 2020, their cap figure for the 2021 season is $197.7 million. That’s over 16 percent of the cap devoted to players who are unavailable due to injury.

This is the current list of players on the Lions injured reserve after the team placed top pass rusher Romeo Okwara and Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow on the list this week. Okwara is out for the season with a torn Achilles and Ragnow is expected to miss at least a month with a toe injury.

Player	Pos.	2021 cap figure (in millions)
Jeff Okudah	CB	$7.62
Taylor Decker	LT	$4.9
Romeo Okwara	OLB	$4.5
Frank Ragnow	C	$4.07
Tyrell Williams	WR	$3.0
Tim Boyle	QB	$2.38
Tyrell Crosby	OT	$2.25
Da’Shawn Hand	DE	$1.09
Shaun Dion Hamilton	LB	$.92
Ifeatu Melifownu	CB	$.65
Kevin Strong	DE	$.51
Joel Heath	DT	$.47

While they’re not on injured reserve, a few other Lions have either missed the Week 4 game in Chicago or appear destined to miss the Week 5 matchup in Minnesota. The most notable of those is the highest-paid player on the roster, outside linebacker Trey Flowers. He counts $19.9 million in 2021 cap room and hasn’t played in two weeks, though he is trending towards playing on Sunday.

First-round rookie Penei Sewell appears unlikely to play in Minnesota after injuring his ankle. Sewell, who starts at left tackle in place of Decker, carries a $4.38 million cap hit.

Now, factor in the Lions’ dead cap room in 2021. No team pays more to players who are no longer on the roster than the Lions, a function of the regime and scheme changes. Detroit is paying over $57 million in dead cap money to the likes of Matthew Stafford ($19 million), Justin Coleman ($6.1 million), Jamie Collins ($5.53 million) and others.

Add the dead cap money and the funds tied up in players on injured reserve and the Lions have devoted $89.8 million to guys who cannot contribute in Week 5. That’s over 45 percent of their cap spending on players who will not be suited up on Sunday — and that’s if Flowers plays. If he’s out, the figure jumps well over 55 percent.

It’s hard enough to win in the NFL with a full complement of players. The Lions are without almost half of their cap resources and a significant portion of their top talents on either side of the ball.