Tag: NFI list

Christian Mahogany activated to the Lions 53-man roster

Christian Mahogany activated to the Lions 53-man roster after spending months on Detroit’s non-football illness list

The Detroit Lions have activated rookie offensive lineman Christian Mahogany from the non-football illness list. Mahogany is now on the Lions’ 53-man active roster and eligible to play immediately.

It’s been a long path for Mahogany, a sixth-round pick out of Boston College. The guard contracted mononucleosis over the summer and missed all of training camp and the first few weeks of the season. The Lions designated Mahogany for return three weeks ago, and the team had to either activate him this week or lose Mahogany for the rest of the season.

Mahogany has been an active participant in practices but wasn’t deemed ready to be active until today, an off day for Lions. Detroit had an opening on the roster, so no corollary move was required to add Mahogany.

Christian Mahogany practices, officially starting his return window clock

Mahogany has been out since June with an illness, but now his activation clock has officially started

There was a very welcome sight at the Detroit Lions practice session on Tuesday in Allen Park. For the first time since the team’s minicamp in June, rookie offensive lineman Christian Mahogany participated in practice.

Mahogany is still on Detroit’s non-football illness list after missing over two months with mononucleosis (mono), but he’s working his way back. The first practice is a first step, kicking off a 21-day activation window for Mahogany. The Lions now have 21 days from today, October 8th, to activate Mahogany onto the 53-man active roster. If they don’t activate him within that window, Mahogany will miss his entire rookie season.

It comes at a time when the Lions can use some depth reinforcements. All-Pro center Frank Ragnow missed the last game with a pectoral muscle injury, and his status remains uncertain for the coming game(s). Ragnow did practice on Tuesday in the portion open to the media, a good sign.

A sixth-rounder from Boston College, Mahogany was an excellent stylistic and schematic fit for the Lions offensive line. Detroit signed veteran Pro Bowler Kevin Zeitler to a one-year contract in the offseason to help groom Mahogany for a larger role in 2025, though that has been derailed because of Mahogany’s debilitating illness.

Chiefs HC Andy Reid discusses the elevation of Clyde Edwards-Helaire from NFI list

Kansas City #Chiefs head coach Andy Reid discusses the elevation of Clyde Edwards-Helaire from NFI list | @EdEastonJr

The Kansas City Chiefs could have another offensive weapon returning to the lineup very soon as the team prepares the roster ahead of Week 5’s matchup with the New Orleans Saints.

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid addressed the media on Thursday, explaining the elevation of running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who started the season on the NFI list because of his ongoing battle with PTSD.

“Clyde (Edwards-Helaire), you saw was elevated. He’s got a 21-day window,” said Reid. “We’ll just get him back into the swing of things here and see how he does and how he goes forward here the next couple of days.”

The NFL’s non-football injury list is a roster designation for players injured outside of NFL activities. Players can be placed on the NFI list for injuries sustained during personal workouts, accidents, or from pre-existing conditions. The 21-day window will be utilized to get Edwards-Helaire back up to speed and fit into a role on the offense.

“Yeah, so we’ll practice them today with the scout team, give them some reps there, and let him just kind of get back in the swing of things,” said Reid. “He’s in good shape. He’s been working out, so just get him back in the football part.”

Edwards-Helaire will join a crowded backfield featuring rookie Carson Steele and veterans Kareem Hunt and Samaje Perine. Isiah Pacheco continues to recover from injury and may not be available until the end of the season.

Dan Campbell says Christian Mahogany ‘very close’ to starting his return

Dan Campbell says rookie offensive lineman Christian Mahogany is ‘very close’ to starting his return from the NFI list and mononucleosis

Rookie offensive lineman Christian Mahogany has been sidelined for months on the non-football illness list after battling mononucleosis over the summer. On Saturday, Lions head coach Dan Campbell offered up a positive note on Mahogany potentially getting back onto the active roster in the near future.

Campbell was asked about the status of Mahogany and also defensive tackle Brodric Martin, who is also out with an injury that happened in training camp.

“Yeah, (GM) Brad (Holmes) and I will talk about that, but they’re – I know Mahogany’s very close. He’s very close for us to have that conversation of, what time is it to begin to start his clock? But obviously they’re both doing well, healing up, getting better, and I would say Mahogany’s closer than Brodric is.”

The Lions have a bye in Week 5 after the Monday Night Football game against the Seattle Seahawks. Because they are off for a full week, there is no need to start the reactivation clock for Mahogany until the team regroups to start Week 6. Once the team designates Mahogany (and Martin) for return, the Lions have three weeks to either activate the player or lose him for the rest of the season.

Lions injury breakdown: Christian Mahogany outlook after mono

Lions rookie offensive lineman Christian Mahogany is sidelined after getting mono. What is his medical and football outlook?

Christian Mahogany, the Lions 6th-round-pick who mysteriously missed all of training camp and preseason, has confirmed that mononucleosis (mono) was the culprit.

 

Mono is typically caused by the Epstein-Barr virus and studies have shown that over 90% of humans have contracted it at some point in their life. Most people likely contracted it as a child and developed some immunity, which would help prevent a more severe case later in life.

If an athlete is diagnosed with mono, the main concern is enlargement of the spleen (splenomegaly), which is found in about 50% of patients. The splenomegaly can lead to splenic rupture, which is rare but life-threatening. Avoiding contact sports and even heavy lifting for three to four weeks is thus recommended as usually the spleen returns to normal in that time.

In rare cases, the splenomegaly can persist beyond four weeks, which would necessitate a longer absence. Mahogany likely has had ultrasounds of his spleen to check for this issue. Presumably since he has resumed strength training, any significant splenomegaly has resolved.

OUTLOOK

There are unlikely to be any long-term issues for Mahogany due to mono. About 10% of individuals report persistent fatigue for months but this usually resolves over time. Some may experience lingering sore joints and that could affect performance.

Mahogany has been on the NFI (non-football injury) list since the start of camp and is remaining on NFI into the season. This means he is ineligible to play or even practice the first 4 weeks of the season. The earliest he is eligible to play is October 13 vs the Cowboys, after the bye.

Physically, there is a good chance he could play by the Cowboys game as that will have given him about six to eight weeks of training and conditioning. But since he is a rookie who has missed a significant amount of practice, it’s his mental game that might delay his return. Hopefully, we can see him take on a limited backup role at OG sometime in October.

Lions rookie OL Christian Mahogany easing closer to returning to action

Mahogany has been away from the Lions all of training camp but is getting closer to returning, per Dan Campbell

The Lions are getting closer to finally having one of their 2024 draft picks in the practice lineup. Sixth-round offensive lineman Christian Mahogany is progressing toward being activated from the non-football illness list.

Mahogany has been out all of training camp with an undisclosed illness. He has been away from the team since the June minicamp, where Mahogany played a lot with the second-team offense at right guard. Head coach Dan Campbell stated last week, “We have to assume we don’t have (Mahogany).”

On Sunday, Campbell provided a more promising update on Mahogany.

“Yeah, he’s in the building,” Campbell said of Mahogany. “I don’t see him practicing this week, but he’s here, and we’re going to get him going, start working him, getting his body right, getting back there with (Lions Director of Sports Performance) Mike Clark and (Lions Director of Player Health & Performance Brett Fischer) Fisch and those guys, and just start getting him back in shape. He’ll be in meetings. And then once we feel like he’s in a good place physically, then we’ll probably see where it’s at there.”

 

Carlton Davis among Lions activated from the NFI list for training camp

Carlton Davis among four Lions activated from the NFI list for training camp

Stints on the physically unable-to-perform (PUP) and non-football injury (NFI) lists are often quite brief to start training camp. That proved true for four Detroit Lions who began camp on the lists.

The Lions activated the foursome on Wednesday, the first day of practice at the team’s training facility in Allen Park.

The biggest name is cornerback Carlton Davis, who is expected to start at one of the outside CB spots. Davis was one of three newcomers to the Lions who were initially placed on the active/NFI list in time for Thursday’s practice:

CB Carlton Davis
WR Donovan Peoples-Jones
CB Amik Robertson
WR Tre’Quan Smith

That leaves DT DJ Reader as the only Detroit player on the NFI list.

Lions place fourth-round rookie on NFI list to start training camp

Lions place fourth-round rookie Giovanni Manu on NFI list to start training camp

The Detroit Lions open their training camp on Tuesday, but the team will not have one of its fourth-round draft picks available to play right away. After reporting with the rest of the rookie class on Saturday, the Lions placed Giovanni Manu on the non-football injury list.

No reason for the move was released by the Lions. Manu had been a full participant in minicamp and OTAs earlier in the offseason.

Manu was a surprise selection as the 126th pick in April’s draft after playing in the relative obscurity of Canadian college football at the University of British Columbia. A 6-foot-7, 352-pound offensive tackle, Manu arrived in Canada from his native Tonga as a basketball player before finding football.

Detroit traded a 2025 third-round pick to land Manu in the late fourth round. He’s viewed as an athletic project with high long-term upside but isn’t expected to contribute as a rookie. Starting on the NFI list won’t help accelerate Manu’s development, unfortunately.

Brian Branch among 3 defensive vets placed on PUP list to start Lions training camp

All 3 are coming off injuries in the 2023 season and can be activated at any time

The veteran portion of training camp for the Detroit Lions doesn’t kick off officially until Tuesday, but the team already made some roster tweaks on a few key defensive players.

Defensive back Brian Branch was one of three players placed on the physically unable to perform list ahead of training camp. Branch had offseason surgery on an injured ankle and was in street clothes throughout OTAs and minicamp.

Free agent signees DJ Reader and Marcus Davenport were also placed on the PUP list to start camp. Reader is coming back from a torn quadriceps, while Davenport’s 2023 season ended early with a high ankle sprain.

All were placed on the active PUP list, meaning they can be activated at any time before the regular season.

The Lions also placed fourth-round rookie Giovanni Manu on the non-football injury list. He is also eligible to be activated for duty at any time.

Niners rookie WR Ricky Pearsall starts training camp on NFI list

The 49ers haven’t said why Ricky Pearsall started training camp on the NFI list.

San Francisco 49ers rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall started training camp on the non-football injury list. There’s been no word from the team as to the nature or severity of the injury but he has a week of practices with the rookie before veterans show up in a week.

The team announced Pearsall was headed to the NFI list the same day starting wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk requested a trade from the team. The Niners selected Pearsall out of the University of Florida with the No. 31 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft.

Pearsall is in line to be the team’s No. 3 receiver behind Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel and perhaps replace Aiyuk if the team does trade him.

Pearsall was one of the big climbers in the 2024 NFL draft thanks to his ridiculous athleticism. Pearsall’s athleticism score of 85 at the NFL scouting combine was good for eighth-best among wide receivers while his production in college didn’t quite match up.

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