Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
4 Lions vets who are in real peril of not making the Detroit roster in 2023
There is a flip side of the coin to the excitement of all the offseason additions in Detroit. Some Lions players who had roles in the past are going to lose their spots because of the influx of new talent.
It’s the life cycle in the NFL. New players come in and replace older ones that are no longer good enough for their roles. For the Detroit Lions in 2023, it means a few guys need to perform better than they have recently to hold onto roster spots.
Lions activate DE Romeo Okwara from the PUP list and place his brother Julian on IR
There will be more than just first-round wideout Jameson Williams making a Detroit Lions debut in 2022 on Sunday. The Lions activated Williams on Saturday, but they also officially activated defensive end Romeo Okwara from the PUP list.
Okwara has not played since tearing his Achilles in Week 4 of the 2021 season. The Lions welcome back their 2020 sack leader in time for Okwara to play against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday in Ford Field.
Alas, it’s not an entirely great day for the Okwara family. To make room for Romeo on the roster, the Lions placed his brother, Julian, on injured reserve. Julian Okwara hurt his elbow in the Week 12 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
The Lions also elevated center Ross Pierschbacher from the practice squad to help with the offensive line depth. Starting right guard Evan Brown, who is also the backup center, is out for the second week in a row with an ankle injury.
Lions final injury report for Week 13: Just 2 players ruled out for the matchup with the Jaguars
The Detroit Lions released their final game status report for injured players for the Week 13 matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Surprisingly, it’s the shortest injury report since Week 1.
Only two players carry any injury designation at all into the game. Starting right guard Evan Brown and reserve defensive end Julian Okwara are both out for Sunday’s game. Brown also missed Week 12 with his ankle injury, while Okwara injured his elbow in the Thanksgiving loss to the Bills.
That’s the list.
A few other Lions did miss some practice time during the week, but none are listed as doubtful or questionable for the game. That grouping includes several starters: C Frank Ragnow, RT Penei Sewell, DE Josh Paschal, CB Jeff Okudah and LG Jonah Jackson.
Jackson and Okudah were cleared from the NFL’s concussion protocol on Friday. Both missed last week’s game.
Lions sign DE James Houston to the active roster and place Julian Okwara on IR
Lions rookie James Houston picked a great time to have an impactful NFL debut. After bagging two sacks of Bills All-Pro QB Josh Allen in his first game, Houston found his way onto the Lions active roster.
The Lions signed Houston to the active roster after the reverted to the practice squad. The sixth-round rookie from Jackson State played in Week 12 as a practice squad elevation, his first time being active for a regular season game.
There was room for Houston on the 53-man roster due to an injury. DE Julian Okwara was placed on the IR with an elbow injury suffered in the loss to the Bills. He is not expected to return in 2022, which has six games remaining.
The Detroit Lions relied on their young core to bring them home against the Green Bay Packers and PFF grades reflect the strong performances
Individuals are always looking for immediate success and instant gratification, so patience surrounding the Detroit Lions rebuild has come with some frustration and turmoil, considering how the last few weeks have gone. However, even though it was only one win, this one seemed different when the Lions defeated their division rival, the Green Bay Packers, to a tune of 15-9 with the help of one of their defensive performances in some time.
The most fulfilling part of the whole endeavor was seeing the young guns blooming right in front of our eyes. With how the team is built, the Lions have to rely on a slew of young players, and, at times, they make questionable mistakes, but with the right guidance and coaching, they perform admirably, and that was what was shown against the Packers. If they continue their trajectory, the sky is the limit for the Lions young core.
As such, this week’s PFF grades have many of their young players sitting right on top, assuring that what we saw was not just a mirage.
Okudah knocked teammates Julian Okwara and Kerby Joseph out of Sunday’s win over Green Bay with friendly-fire hits
Lions cornerback Jeff Okudah found the hit stick on his game controller on Sunday. He racked up five tackles, one TFL and a forced fumble in the Lions triumph. Unfortunately, Okudah’s walloping hits caused some collateral damage in the Week 9 win over the Green Bay Packers.
Two different hits by Okudah on Packers players caused some friendly-fire injuries to his Lions’ teammates. Both DE Julian Okwara and S Kerby Joseph had to go to the locker room after being the unintended victim of the Okudah hit stick. Both were initially evaluated for concussions and Okwara did return. Joseph appeared fine after the game despite not returning.
Okudah offered some love for the teammates he hammered on Sunday. On his Twitter account, Okudah playfully offered to buy dinner for Okwara and Joseph for the unfortunate hits.
I owe y’all dinner for that friendly fire.. @julian_okwara @JKERB25 🫣 pic.twitter.com/j15eZjUvB4
— Jeff Okudah (@jeffokudah) November 6, 2022
Okwara smartly took him up on it on his own Twitter response,
— Julian Okwara (@julian_okwara) November 7, 2022
Here are this week’s prime Lions on the spot to have good games in New England if Detroit is to secure the elusive road victory.
The 1-3 Detroit Lions head to New England to face the 1-3 Patriots in Week 5. The Lions sorely need a win after dropping a 48-45 shootout at home against the Seattle Seahawks last Sunday. Fo that to happen, a few key Lions need to perform well against Bill Belichick’s Patriots.
Last week’s choices wound up being quite prescient, albeit not always positively so.
Here are this week’s prime Lions on the spot to have good games in New England if Detroit is to secure the elusive road victory.
Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn looking for more from ‘still improving’ LB Julian Okwara after No. 99 created a lot of pressure in his Week 2 debut
Julian Okwara made his 2022 debut in Week 2. The Lions EDGE made his presence felt in the win over Washington, creating several pressures on Commanders QB Carson Wentz in limited reps.
Okwara had some issues finishing those pressures, whiffing on two separate potential sacks of Wentz, but the ability to win around the edge was obvious. It’s something Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn hopes — no, expects – to see more of from No. 99. Glenn is excited by what Okwara offers as a speed rusher.
“Well, JO (Okwara) is a fastball for us, especially off the edge. So, we try to utilize him in those situations as much as we can. Obviously, last year he had one of his – if not his best year. We’re looking for him to actually have a better year this year because we know what he can do now. So, it’s just to us as coaches to make sure we continue to put him in a situation where he can be successful.
Glenn continued, noting Okwara still might not be 100 percent recovered from the hamstring injury that kept him out almost all of training camp.
“It’s good to have him back, he still, he’s still improving. He’s still coming off that injury. It usually takes a while when you come off a hamstring. So, really looking forward to see how he’s going to operate this week going into the year. So, but I think that guy’s going to have a good year.”
Keeping Okwara on the field to make an impact has been the biggest holdup to the improvement. Okwara has been healthy for just 20 games in two-plus seasons, on the field for under 475 snaps. He logged 27 total tackles and five sacks in 13 games in 2021.
[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbx8sj47vkwrznr player_id=none image=https://lionswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
Levi Onwuzurike and Tommy Kraemer will not play against the Eagles due to injury
The final injury report and game status listing for the Detroit Lions ahead of the team’s Week 1 matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles is now finalized.
Two Lions players, DT Levi Onwuzurike and RG Tommy Kraemer, have been ruled out with injuries. Neither player practiced at all during the week. Onwuzurike has not been on the field since the first padded practice of training camp with an ongoing back and hip injury.
Kraemer was projected to start at RG in place of Halapoulivaati Vaitai, who was placed on IR this week with a back injury of his own. With Kraemer out, the Lions’ next man up would be Logan Stenberg.
Safety Ifeatu Melifonwu is listed as doubtful with a hamstring injury. Melifonwu was limited in practices all week and has missed considerable time this summer.
Center Frank Ragnow and DE Julian Okwara are questionable for Sunday’s game. Ragnow was a limited participant on Friday after sitting out Thursday’s session with a groin injury. Okwara has been battling a hamstring injury since early in training camp.
Three other players who were listed on the injury report during the week carry no game-day designation, meaning they are expected to play. DL John Cominksy, LB, Chris Board and K Austin Seibert were all full participants in both Thursday and Friday practices.
[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbx8sj47vkwrznr player_id=none image=https://lionswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
The Philadelphia Eagles released their initial Week 1 injury report, and Miles Sanders is a full participant in practice while three others are limited.
Wednesday injury report. pic.twitter.com/KexgUFlouv
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 7, 2022
The Eagles released their initial injury report for Sunday’s matchup at Detroit, and running back Miles Sanders was a full participant.
Sanders missed all of training camp with a hamstring injury, and Philadelphia was cautious with his rehab, but he should start against an improved Lions defense.
Josiah Scott, Derek Barnett, and Javon Hargrave were all limited participants, while Jason Kelce is cleared and will start on the road at Ford Field.
