The Detroit Lions will take on the Green Bay Packers in their opening games of the 2025 NFL season. As is the case with most beginning-of-the-year schedules, the Lions have taken a slightly different approach to Week 1. They practiced earlier in the week than they traditionally do, and as a result, Wednesday is a day off for the players. This means the participation levels for this opening practice are only estimations based on what the coaching staff projects each player to have been capable of producing, had this been a full practice.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at Wednesday’s injury report and get you up to date with what we know.
All four players listed here are required to sit out the first four weeks of the NFL season, but are eligible to start practicing in Week 5, if healthy. Once activated, they would begin a 21-day evaluation period and would be able to be added to the 53-man roster at any point.
Of the injured players, Paschal could be the closest to returning. He was originally expected to return around cutdowns, but coach Dan Campbell noted that he had a setback and noted that it “could be a little later than we’d hoped.”
Vaki injured his hamstring early in training camp and had been nursing it throughout the preseason. He was able to return to practice ahead of the preseason game against the Dolphins, but was forced to exit joint practices against the Texans the following week.
Nowaske is dealing with an elbow injury. It’s unclear when the injury was suffered and what severity it is, but a no practice to start the week isn’t the best.
TeSlaa missed practice on Tuesday, but on Wednesday, Campbell was on the radio and downplayed his absence, noting it was just an illness, and not an injury, and that he was already scheduled to return to Allen Park.
“He just had a little bug,” Campbell told 97.1 The Ticket. “I think he’ll be alright here. He’s coming in the building today. He’s been in virtual (meetings). I know he feels a lot better, but we’ll see.”
The fact that TeSlaa is already listed as limited is a good sign he could be available for Sunday.
Awosika is dealing with a shoulder injury. As one of the top interior reserves, Awosika is valued member of the gameday roster, but a limited designation doesn’t seem like anything to worry about at the moment.
Despite just coming...