Pride of Detroit
The Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens will square off in Week 3, in a cross-conference battle between two of the NFL’s heavyweights. With this game being held on “Monday Night Football,” the Lions’ schedule gets a bit of a delay this week. The first official injury report is released on Thursday, followed by an update on Friday, and injury designations must be declared on Saturday.
The Lions finished Week 2 with seven players on their injury report, but five were able to play against the Chicago Bears. Unfortunately, a few players were dinged up during the game, resulting in one player being placed on injured reserve and another seeking a second opinion on his medical status.
Let’s take a look at Thursday’s initial injury report and get you up to date with what we know. Note: Any changes from last week will be bolded.
Zylstra injured his ankle on his third special teams snap against the Bears in Week 2 and was forced from the game. He was spotted in the locker room in a walking boot, and it appears that his injury will keep him out for a while. By being placed on injured reserve, he will be required to miss the next four games, at a minimum, and then he will be eligible to return once he is healthy.
McNeill delivered a very positive update to Detroit Football Network’s Justin Rogers, suggesting he feels 93-94% of the way through his rehabilitation process. And while McNeill feels like he could play now if needed, he also understands the value of seeing the rehabilitation process through to its conclusion. As Jeremy Reisman points out in a recent article, fans need to be patient with McNeill’s return, as he is not eligible to return until at least Week 5 and will then have to undergo a multi-week reacclimation process before returning to play.
Decker missed every practice last week and still played in virtually every snap last Sunday (except when the starters were pulled), so on the surface, this looks like a rest-and-monitor situation. Lions fans should be paying attention to his progress, but it’s nothing to get overly worried about at this time.
Campbell missed last Wednesday’s practice, then returned in full the remainder of the week and played every defensive snap (save when the starters were pulled), so this also looks like a rest-and-monitor situation.
Davenport was injured twice...
