Tag: Detroit Lions injury update

Lions injury update: 10 players sit out practice No. 15

It might be time to start worrying a little more about D’Andre Swift…

There might be 85 players on the Detroit Lions roster after the flurrying roster activity on Tuesday, but only 75 were active at practice.

A full 10 players were idled from practice on Tuesday night, the final training camp practice session open to the public.

The players who were out, in alphabetical order:

  • DT Miles Brown (undisclosed injury)
  • OL Tyrell Crosby (hamstring)
  • CB Corn Elder (leg)
  • DE Da’Shawn Hand (ankle)
  • TE T.J. Hockenson (hip)
  • RB Dedrick Mills (undisclosed)
  • NT John Penisini (lower body)
  • RB D’Andre Swift (groin)
  • DT Nick Williams (COVID-19)
  • TE Brock Wright (undisclosed)

Swift appeared worse for the wear on Tuesday night. After participating in light conditioning work on Monday, Swift was completely idled for Tuesday’s practice. That’s not a good sign of progress, unfortunately.

In addition to the players who were out, backup QB Tim Boyle was extremely limited in practice. Boyle suffered an ankle injury in the preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills and is sporting a brace on the ankle. The Lions signed QB Jordan Ta’amu to help take reps for Boyle and third-stringer David Blough, who is actively participating but dealing with shoulder tightness.

The good news: second-round DE Levi Onwuzurike was a full participant for the first time all summer, and he bagged a sack on the very first rep of team drills.

[listicle id=64407]

Levi Onwuzurike on his back injury: ‘I was always good’

Onwuzurike downplayed the back issue as “nagging pain” and nothing at all to worry about

It was more than a little troubling to see Lions second-round pick Levi Onwuzurike standing on the side of training camp practices with trainers instead of participating in drills. Big No. 75 was sidelined for most of the first three weeks of camp with a back injury, one that dates back to his college days at Washington.

Nobody ever “used to have” a back injury, and for a player so young to be idled with one was concerning. But Onwuzurike is back in the lineup and looked fantastic in Tuesday night’s practice. He’s scheduled to play as normal on Saturday in the second preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, too.

Onwuzurike spoke to the media after Tuesday’s session and downplayed any concerns over the back injury.

“I’m back to normal. I mean, I was always good, it was just more the Lions trying to take care of me. Make sure I got better right away,” Onwuzurike said.

The new Lions regime has indeed been quite proactive in resting players with minor or lingering injuries. It’s true with RB D’Andre Swift, WR Breshad Perriman and CB Corn Elder, among others.

The Lions referred Onwuzurike to a couple of different specialists, just to be safe. The defensive end made it clear that was not what he wanted, but he appreciated the team looking out for his best interest. He understands that dealing with “nagging pain” is part of life in the NFL and he’s quite confident he’s going through nothing more than that.

[lawrence-related id=64427]

 

Lions make a series of injury-related roster moves

The Lions still have a couple more moves to make to get to the 85-man limit by Tuesday

With roster cuts due on Tuesday, the Detroit Lions made a series of moves that help get the team closer to the 85-person limit. Two Lions players were removed from the active roster on Monday and another previously waived accepted an injury settlement.

All three of the moves are related to injuries. The most notable is reserve offensive lineman Evan Boehm, who has been placed on injured reserve. Boehm injured his knee late in Friday’s preseason opener against the Buffalo Bills. He had been the Lions No. 2 center for much of the last week of training camp.

Tight end Charlie Taumoepeau was waived with a non-football injury designation. Taumoepeau did play in the loss to the Bills and has been a full participant in practices. The exact nature of his injury is unknown at this time.

Running back Michael Warren had already been waived last week with an injury designation. After he went unclaimed on waivers, Warren reverted to the Lions injured reserve. He has now taken an injury settlement and is off the team, free to sign with another NFL squad.

The moves leave the Lions roster at 87, meaning two more players will be gone by tomorrow.

[lawrence-related id=64306]

Dan Campbell offers injury updates on D’Andre Swift and Levi Onwuzurike

D’Andre Swift and Levi Onwuzurike have both missed most of training camp with injuries

Lions head coach Dan Campbell offered updates on the status of a couple of key young players who have been sidelined recently with injuries prior to Monday afternoon’s practice session.

Running back D’Andre Swift has not practiced in over a week and did not play in Friday night’s preseason opener against Buffalo. He’s been nursing a groin injury. Coach Campbell indicated that the second-year running back will not practice on Monday, but the plan is in place to have Swift work back in as a limited participant in Tuesday night’s practice.

Rookie DE Levi Onwuzurike is battling a back injury that predates his Lions tenure. His prognosis is improving, per Campbell.

“He’ll be out here (practicing),” Campbell said. “He’ll be limited but he’ll do indy (individual drills) and a couple of team reps. Then we’ll start to progress him so hopefully he gets a little bit more and he’s on the up-and-up … it’ time to get him his work.”

The Lions play their second preseason game at the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday.

[listicle id=64252]

Lions rookie DE Levi Onwuzurike dealing with back injury that carries over from his college days

Lions rookie DE Levi Onwuzurike remains sidelined with a back injury that carries over from his college days at Washington

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbx8sj47vkwrznr player_id=none image=https://lionswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

It’s been difficult to spot Lions second-round rookie Levi Onwuzurike throughout training camp. The big DE from Washington has barely participated due to injury reasons.

On Wednesday, Detroit head coach Dan Campbell offered up an in-depth explanation of what’s going on with Onwuzurike. And it’s not a great development for the 41st overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft.

“He had a couple of things with him when he was at Washington that we wanted to make sure he’s good with,” Campbell said prior to Wednesday’s practice session. “He’s kind of had a tight back and some things, so we wanted to get some clarity on where that was at. We’ve sent him around to a couple of specialists just making sure and everything seems to be good. We just chose to let’s really think about rehab, strengthening, things of that nature this week and then let’s get him fired up next week. You’ll see him next week, (that) is the plan.”

Despite the ongoing back injury, a dicey issue for any person of Onwuzurike’s considerable size, Campbell remains upbeat about seeing the prized draftee in the immediate future.

“I mean, look, you’re always going to have some type of concern,” Campbell said. “Obviously he’s young, he’s hungry, he works and I think we’ve got good people around him to help him. I think that we know what we’re looking at now because we’ve sent him to a couple places and I think he’ll be just fine. I can’t worry about it and I think he’ll be OK. That’s what we wanted clarity on is we think this will be fine. We’re ready to put him back into practice next week and let him grow.”

Onwuzurike had a similar situation at the Senior Bowl in January. He thrived in practices early in the week but was sidelined for the final session and the game itself with an undisclosed injury. He did not play in 2020 for the Huskies after opting out.

[lawrence-related id=64140]

Lions training camp injury updates: T.J. Hockenson, Da’Shawn Hand ‘minor’ issues

Lions training camp injury updates: T.J. Hockenson, Da’Shawn Hand suffered ‘minor’ issues per Dan Campbell

Lions head coach Dan Campbell offered some reassuring news on the team’s injury front at the start of his press conference prior to Wednesday morning’s training camp practice.

Campbell provided updates on some injured Lions players. Most notable were two players who left Tuesday’s practice session early: tight end T.J. Hockenson and defensive end Da’Shawn Hand. Neither will practice on Wednesday but it’s not serious.

“Both of those guys there, again, we feel like those are minor,” Campbell said of Hockenson and Hand. “We’re just (being) precautionary.”

Hockenson had a hard landing during a drill. Hand appeared to roll his ankle as he took his first step on a rep, an injury that happened about 10 yards away from my vantage point, and it did not appear serious.

Running back D’Andre Swift remains sidelined with a lingering groin issue, and rookie RB Jermar Jefferson is nursing an ankle injury that has kept him out of practices.

[lawrence-related id=64094]

Lions injury update: Dan Campbell provides info on several wounded players

Campbell provided updates on D’Andre Swift, Tyrell Crosby, Jerry Jacobs and other Lions players

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell devoted some of his pre-practice press conference on Thursday morning to update the status of several injured Lions players.

First off, offensive lineman Evan Brown is being activated from the non-football injury list. Brown was placed on the list last week and has not participated in training camp.

Second-year pass rusher Julian Okwara “got a bit of a bruise, a contusion on his ribs”, according to Campbell. The head coach quickly added “he should be fine” and he expects Okwara to be back at practice on Friday.

Defensive end Michael Brockers is getting the veteran treatment.

“We’re just trying to be smart with (Brockers), Campbell said. “He’s a 10-year vet, he’s slugged it out for a long time now and we kind of know what he can do, so we’re just trying to be smart. He’ll get his reps but we kind of know what he is.”

On running back D’Andre Swift, Campbell also downplayed any real worries about any lasting injury.

“Swiftie, he’s good,” Campbell said of his starting RB. “He’s bound pretty tight and he runs hot. We’re trying to get him a load and then back down. We’re kind of working him in. We just want to make sure we’re being smart with him but get him his work. He’s had kind of a bit of a tight groin … he’s getting better, he feels better.”

Tyrell Crosby, slated to be the team’s swing tackle after starting along the offensive line last season, is idled with a hamstring injury.

“He got a hammy,” Campbell said as he grabbed his own hamstring for emphasis. “It looks like a Grade 1 so he’s going to be down a little bit.”

Campbell indicated that Matt Nelson will get the bulk of Crosby’s action and that the team is pleased with the progress of Nelson, who is also getting reps at guard.

On undrafted rookie cornerback Jerry Jacobs, who has been impressive throughout camp, Campbell explained it’s a minor thing. “He got stepped on”, Campbell said of Jacobs’ injured thigh. Jacobs will be a full participant and has no issues beyond the cleat contusion on his thigh.

 

Several players banged up in Lions’ 2nd padded practice session

Several Detroit players were banged up in Lions’ 2nd padded practice session of training camp

Day 7 of Detroit Lions training camp was designed to be the most physical to date, and unfortunately, the amped-up physicality created a few casualties. Several Lions left practice early with some injuries that required attention from the Lions training staff, per on-site observers from Allen Park.

Among those who left Wednesday’s practice session and did not return:

  • CB Jerry Jacobs
  • OLB Julian Okwara
  • RB D’Andre Swift

Okwara later reappeared with a giant ice wrap on his hip, per Jeremy Reisman of Pride of Detroit. Swift jogged to the locker room on his own, according to Dave Birkett of the Free Press. Birkett also noted that Jacobs returned to the field with a compression sleeve on his leg.

Lions players who sought attention with trainers but returned to the field:

  • WR Kalif Raymond
  • NT John Penisini
  • RB Jermar Jefferson

In addition, DE Levi Onwuzurike did not participate in any drills. The second-round pick left Tuesday’s practice ver yearly on and did not return, but was at least on the field on Wednesday.

Coach Dan Campbell addresses the media before Thursday’s practice session, and he has been diligent about providing injury updates at the start of the press conferences. Stay tuned for updates.

 

Tyrell Williams back at Lions practice after dislocating his pinkie

Tyrell Williams had the left pinkie popped back into place and is back at practice

Detroit Lions wide receiver Tyrell Williams was back at practice on Wednesday morning, a day after leaving the training camp field with an injury.

We didn’t know the exact nature of the injury on Tuesday, but coach Dan Campbell cleared it up in his pre-practice press conference on Wednesday. Campbell confirmed that Williams, the Lions’ top wideout, dislocated the pinkie finger on his left hand during a drill.

Trainers popped the finger back into place for Williams and he is cleared for full activity, per Campbell.

Williams did uncharacteristically drop a couple of passes in Tuesday’s practice session, and the injured digit helps explain why that might have happened.

[listicle id=63820]

Quinton Dunbar remains sidelined for 2nd straight practice

The Lions have not provided any injury updates on Dunbar, who worked with the third-team defense on Friday

Cornerback Quinton Dunbar has not had a promising start to his first Detroit Lions training camp. The veteran corner, signed as a free agent in April, missed his second straight practice session on Monday.

Dunbar also wasn’t on the field for Saturday’s practice session, the first with fans in the stands at the team’s training facility in Allen Park. He was working primarily with the third-string defense at outside CB in Friday morning’s session.

Head coach Dan Campbell has not provided any injury updates on Dunbar. The 29-year-old has battled knee injury issues for several seasons, including last year in Seattle where he was able to play just six games. He has been on the field for just half of the games (24 of 48) over the last three seasons due to injuries.

[vertical-gallery id=63658]