Pride of Detroit
The Detroit Lions (2-1) and the Cleveland Browns (1-2) were back on the practice field on Thursday as they prepare for their Week 4 Sunday afternoon interconference showdown. The Lions, after playing on Monday, held a walkthrough on Wednesday, marking Thursday the first true practice of the week for Detroit.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the latest injury report and get you up to date with what we know. Note: Any changes from last week will be bolded.
Decker appears to be settling into a routine of getting “limited” to “no practice” during the week, as the Lions do their best to limit the stress on his shoulder, thus allowing him to play on Sunday. So far this season, he’s missed more practice time than he’s had, but he hasn’t missed a single snap of game action.
Vaki finally returned from an early camp hamstring injury, only to injure his groin in Week 3. This is a common and unfortunate occurrence with soft tissue injuries, where one injury can lead to another, causing the player to contend with multiple issues during rehabilitation. It’s too early to tell if these issues will impact his status for this weekend’s game, but rest is often the best medicine in these situations, so we’ll have to see the Lions’ approach.
Thomas reportedly suffered a broken forearm that required surgery to repair, so it’s no surprise he missed both practices this week. It’s still not clear if this injury is related to his broken hand (suffered in Week 1) or how much time he’ll miss, so we’ll likely have to wait for Lions coach Dan Campbell for more updates.
After a breakout performance on Monday night against the Ravens, Lions fans held their collective breath when the team reported that Muhammad was estimated to have missed practice on Wednesday, had they held one. Fortunately, Detroit Football Network’s Justin Rogers was able to talk with Muhammad in the locker room on Wednesday, and he reported that Muhammad disclosed that he was expecting to play on Sunday. That projection from the Lions’ defensive end appears to be accurate, as Muhammad returned to practice on Thursday and is on track to play against the Browns.
Barnes was estimated to be limited on Wednesday and indeed practiced on Thursday, as expected. Barnes is a critical cog in Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard’s defense, and keeping him healthy and available is paramount for the Lions’ scheme.
“Yeah, you ask (General Manager) Brad (Holmes) what he means to my defense,” Sheppard said at his Thursday press conference. “I said that was a player I had to have. […] I believe this kid can play four, five spots on the football field...
