Pride of Detroit
The Detroit Lions (3-1) and Cincinnati Bengals (2-2) were back on the field on Thursday as they prepare for their Week 5 matchup on Sunday afternoon. The Lions were able to return Khalil Dorsey to practice on Thursday, but four players remain unable to practice—though the Lions don’t seem overly worried about their starters’ availability this weekend.
Let’s take a look at the latest injury reports and get you up to date with what we know. Note: Any changes from the last injury report will be bolded.
Note: D.J. Reed (hamstring) was placed on IR and is no longer listed on the injury report.
Decker continues to miss practices as he navigates a challenging injury management process, but regardless of the obstacles, he is still expected to start at left tackle for the Lions on Sunday.
“It’s a good thing that he’s a veteran,” Lions offensive coordinator John Morton said on Thursday. “He’s seen a lot of stuff, so he’s got to do a lot of film study to be ready for the game. So I think it gives everybody confidence when you know he’s going to be ready on game day.”
Vaki has been unable to practice the last five opportunities, which is not a good sign for his availability. That being said, him not being moved to injured reserve is a good indicator that he could return soon enough.
Cunningham injured his hamstring last Thursday and has not practiced since. That’s not ideal, and when you consider the fact that the Lions filled an open roster spot with linebacker Ty Summers this week, the tea leaves are pointing to Cunningham likely missing this game.
Joseph has had a lingering knee issue for a while now, but the Lions have managed it by giving him some time off. For now, that pattern looks to be repeating itself, but we’ll likely need to see him practice on Friday.
While McNeill remains on the PUP list and has only practiced one day, he’s already showing signs of being close to a return. Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard raved about how far along McNeill looked in the return-to-play process, but also cautioned about needing to stay patient.
“I saw all I needed to see,” Sheppard said of McNeill’s Wednesday practice. “I see him helping in a major way. Now the biggest task for me is being patient. And you know the collaborative effort with our training staff, strength staff, and obviously the head man giving me the green light for him and what that’s going to entail and look like. But I told Dan (Campbell) yesterday, it’s amazing when you watch those practice clips. It’s like he’s been at training camp, I mean, he does not look like a player...
