Pride of Detroit
The Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens were back on the practice field on Friday, preparing for their upcoming Week 3 interconference matchup on “Monday Night Football.” After having a few starters sit out on Thursday, the Lions were able to return all but one to practice on Friday.
Let’s take a look at the latest initial injury report and get you up to date with what we know. Note: Any changes from previous practices will be bolded.
Lions coach Dan Campbell hinted that the Lions were going to take their time with Davenport, seek multiple follow-up medical opinions on his chest injury, and didn’t plan on having any answers until the end of the week. While this absence was expected, it surely won’t instill any confidence in Lions’ fans hoping that he’ll be able to return in time to play on Monday night.
Complicating things even further, our own Jeremy Reisman spotted Davenport in the locker room wearing a sling on his right arm. If Davenport is unable to play this week—and it’s starting to look that way—Al-Quadin Muhammad is expected to get the start in his place.
“Quan (Muhammad) is great. He’s awesome, a great teammate, and he’s been playing some really good football. So I’m looking forward to playing with him some more,” Aidan Hutchinson said on Thursday. Later adding, “We have a really good relationship, and with Marcus (Davenport) being uncertain for the future, it’s gonna be fun. We’re going to get after it.”
Muhammad has been playing very well of late and was scheduled to start earning more playing time, regardless of Davenport’s injury, according to Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard.
“He’s been phenomenal,” Sheppard said during his Friday press conference. “It has nothing to do with availability. Look at the effort he plays with. That is the identity of the Detroit Lions defense. Forget the stats, forget any of that stuff, just talk to me about Muhammad’s effort, and that is the standard for the Lions defense.”
Campbell also returned to practice, although this was expected after he maintained a similar practice pattern last week. Expect him to be available to start and play on every defensive rep on Monday, and then possibly get another rest day early next week as he continues to work back toward full strength.
Reed was a surprise addition to the Lions’ practice report on Thursday, but the fact that he was able to practice on Friday is terrific news for the Lions’ secondary. It’s worth keeping an eye on his status for the final Week 3 practice on Saturday, but things appear to be headed in a positive direction.
Joseph has been nursing a knee injury for over a month now, but the Lions have done a good job of limiting him at the right times...
