The Detroit Lions released their Week 4 initial injury report and two starters missed practice, while three starters returned.
The Detroit Lions and Seattle Seahawks will face off on “Monday Night Football” in Week 4, and with that privilege comes a slight alteration to the teams’ weekly schedules. Instead of releasing an injury report on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, things get pushed back a day, meaning the first official injury report will be out on Thursday, followed by a second on Friday, and injury designations will be made on Saturday.
The Lions have a lot of injuries to sort through this week, so let’s take a look at Thursday’s injury report and get you up to date with what we know. Of note, any changes from last week’s report will be bolded.
Injured reserve, Non-Football injury list
- G Christian Mahogany (Illness, mono) — NFI list, eligible to return in Week 5
- DT Brodric Martin (knee) — injured reserve, eligible to return in Week 5
- DL John Cominsky (MCL) — injured reserve, eligible to return in Week 5
- EDGE Marcus Davenport (elbow) — injured reserve, eligible to return in Week 10
- LB Derrick Barnes (knee) — injured reserve, eligible to return in Week 10
- CB Emmanuel Moseley (pec) — injured reserve, eligible to return in Week 5
In one fell swoop, the Lions lost both their primary edge rushers splitting starting reps opposite Aidan Hutchinson. In base sets, the Lions deployed Derrick Barnes in the SAM linebacker role, while leaning on Marcus Davenport in both base and subpackages.
The severity of Barnes’ knee injury is still unknown, meaning it’s not entirely clear how long he will be out beyond the mandated four games, while Davenport’s injury is believed to be season-ending.
In both situations, the Lions will be looking for replacements. Josh Paschal has the closest skill set to Davenport and seems the most likely to step into his role, but the Lions may supplement some situational role to other players like Levi Onwuzurike and James Houston. Unfortunately, there’s not as clear a replacement for Barnes, which will likely result in a replacement by linebacker committee.
No practice
- C Frank Ragnow (pec) — Injured in Week 3 — will not play this week
- TE Sam LaPorta (ankle) — Injured in Week 3, working with a trainer
- OT Dan Skipper (ribs) — Injured in Week 3, returned to play
- S Ifeatu Melifonwu (ankle)
On Thursday morning, coach Dan Campbell informed the media that they don’t plan on playing Ragnow this week, instead giving him this week plus next week’s bye to heal up and reassess.
“We’re going to put Frank down this week,” Campbell said. “So I’ll go ahead and get that out of the way. We can go round and round if we want, we’re not even going to mess with that. Look, Frank’s tough. He’s just tough as nails. If anybody can play through it, it’s him. I think we have to be smart. It’s early in the year, we have a lot of football left.
LaPorta tried to play through his ankle injury multiple times last Sunday but struggled to do so. Fortunately, it was reported that his ankle sprain is considered “low” which means he could still be in the mix to play this week. Obviously, not practicing is not a great initial sign, but he was working with a trainer and he’ll have two more practices to test things out.
Skipper was injured early in the Cardinals game but was able to return to game action. It’s possible his injury is lingering, or that the Lions are giving him an early week break to get an extra day of rest, like they did with Graham Glasgow last week.
Melifonwu continues to not practice which has to be both frustrating and aggravating for everyone involved. At this point, it’ll be hard for him to recover and acclimate in time to get any meaningful snaps until after the bye.
Limited practice
- DT Alim McNeill (shoulder) — Injured in Week 3
- DL Levi Onwuzurike (knee) — Injured in Week 3, returned to play
- CB Ennis Rakestraw (hamstring) — upgraded to practicing
- S Brian Branch (concussion) — Injured in Week 3, in NFL’s protocol
McNeill injured his shoulder in the first half of Week 3 and was unable to return. The good news is that he returned to practice this week, which is a big step in the right direction toward playing.
“Alim’s doing better, he’s day-to-day,” Campbell said ahead of practice. “He’ll be out there running around today, so we’re pretty good there.”
McNeill is even more confident about his status this week:
Lions DT Alim McNeill (shoulder) told me believes he’s close to 100 percent. Asked him about his status for Monday night.
McNeill: “I’m playing.”
— Colton Pouncy (@colton_pouncy) September 26, 2024
Onwuzurike is dealing with a knee injury after briefly leaving Sunday’s game before returning to finish the contest. A limited practice to start the week is good for his outlook on Monday, but it’s always worth keeping an eye on how it progresses through the week.
Rakestraw injured his hamstring in warmups ahead of Week 2, and after missing a week, he’s back on the practice field with a chance to return to the lineup. This is an encouraging sign for the rookie, who needs experience to help aid in his development.
Branch is in the NFL’s concussion protocol but the fact that he is practicing, means there’s a chance he be eligible to play against the Seahawks. Now, it’s worth noting that practicing is just part of the protocol and there are likely more steps they need to clear, but this is an encouraging start to the week.
Full practice
- LB Alex Anzalone (concussion) — upgraded to practicing in full
Anzalone was in the concussion protocol last week, and an upgrade to a full practice likey means he is close to, or has cleared the NFL’s concussion protocol. He’s in a good position to return to game action this week.
No longer listed with an injury
- WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (quad)
- WR Isaiah Williams (abdomen)
- LG Graham Glasgow (knee)
- S Kerby Joseph (back)
All the players in this section are no longer on the injury report.
Seahawks’ initial injury report
Coming Soon.
