A look at the Lions/Texans injury reports from Thursday, including Taylor Decker being added and two of Houston’s best players still being sidelined.
The Detroit Lions are squaring off with the Houston Texans in Week 10, and both teams were on the practice field on Thursday. After holding a walkthrough on Wednesday, this was the Lions first full practice of the week.
While the Lions are potentially missing two key contributors and added a new player to the injury report on Thursday, the Texans have been practicing without two of their superstars and could potentially be without both for this weekend’s game.
Let’s take a look at Thursday’s injury report and get you up to date with what we know. Note that any changes from last week’s report will be bolded.
No practice
- EDGE Za’Darius Smith (personal)
- LB Malcolm Rodriguez (ankle)
- LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin (neck)
When Za’Darius Smith woke up on Monday morning, he was staring at the Browns bye week, but by Tuesday morning, he was traded to the Lions and his plans now included a trip to Texas to take on the Texans. As a form of compromise, the Lions permitted Smith to have a bit of an extended break this week, allowing him to not report to Detroit until Friday. Despite his absence, the veteran still had a chance to make his Lions debut this Sunday, but that is likely to be determined in the coming days.
Rodriguez injured his ankle early in Week 8, missed Week 9, and has been unable to practice this week. While there were hopes he could return to action this week, things are not looking overly optimistic with only one practice remaining.
Reeves-Maybin was injured last Sunday against the Packers, and while he played through that injury during the game, him not practicing is not a great sign for his potential availability. There’s still a chance he returns to practice on Friday and is ready to play on Sunday, but that’s a bit up in the air right now.
Limited practice
- Taylor Decker (shoulder) — NEW INJURY
Decker was not listed with an injury on Wednesday but shows up on Thursday’s injury report with a new shoulder injury. Typically, new additions to the injury report on Thursday would be cause for concern, but that may not be the case here. Because the Lions ran a walkthrough on Wednesday, this was the first time a linger issue could have shown up. If this is the case, Decker might simply need some extra rest before playing on Sunday. However, if this was an injury that occurred on Thursday, there is more concern attached to that scenario, as most mid-week injuries are difficult to recover from in just a few days.
For now, we will have to wait and see what coach Dan Campbell has to say at his Friday morning press conference.
Full practice
- RB Sione Vaki (knee)
- DL Josh Paschal (illness)
- DL Mekhi Wingo (ankle)
- DT Brodric Martin (knee) — Days remaining in injury evaluation window: 12
- CB Emmanuel Moseley (pec) — Days remaining in injury evaluation window: 19
- S Ifeatu Melifonwu (ankle) — Days remaining in injury evaluation window: 19
After missing last week’s game, Vaki is officially back in full and looks to be on track to play this Sunday. If Reeves-Maybin is unavailable, Vaki’s return could help make up for the loss.
Paschal talked with the media on Wednesday about his recent medical scare and why it’s taken his a couple weeks to build his strength back up before returning to practice. At this time, he is optimistic that he will be able to play this Sunday, possibly returning to the starting lineup.
Wingo injured his ankle exactly one week ago, and while he missed the game, he appears to have put the injury behind him and should be able to provide the Lions defensive line with some more depth
Martin, Moseley, and Melifonwu are working their way through the injury evaluation process and while none of them are anticipated to return this week, we may get an update on their statuses from Campbell on Friday.
Texans’ Thursday injury report
Coming soon, but while you wait, let’s explore the Texans’ potential obstacles. First, star pass rusher Will Anderson injured his ankle a week ago when the Texans played on “Thursday Night Football.” He exited in the first quarter, attempted to return but couldn’t, and has not practiced at all this week (based on Texans beat reporter’s observations).
Anderson has 40 pressures on the season, per Next Gen Stats, which is the fourth-highest mark for a defender, and if he is unable to play, it’ll be a huge loss for Houston. his direct backup is Derek Barnett (who also did not practice on Wednesday, but his Thursday status is unknown) and there is a massive drop off in production. On the season, Barnett has just nine pressures on the season, despite having 100 opportunities to rush the passer.
Additionally, wide receiver Nico Collins was expected to be removed from injured reserve and was targeting the Lions game for his return. However, even though it’s been reported that he has been medically cleared, the Texans have not started his 21-day evaluation window and he has not returned to practice, which makes him a long shot to meet his goal of playing this Sunday.
When the Texans release their official Thursday injury report later this evening, we will update this article with their participation levels.
UPDATE
Note: Starters are bolded.
Did not practice
- RB Dameon Pierce (groin)
- LG Kenyon Green (shoulder) – expected to go on IR
- EDGE Will Anderson Jr. (ankle)
- DT Folorunso Fatukasi (groin, shoulder)
- LB Jake Hansen (ankle) — downgraded from limited on Wednesday
Limited
- LT Laremy Tunsil (rest)
- EDGE Derek Barnett (calf, shoulder) — upgraded from DNP on Wednesday
- EDGE Dylan Horton (illness) — upgraded from DNP on Wednesday
- EDGE Jerry Hughes (hip) — Still on IR, in evaluation window
- LB Azeez Al-Shaair (knee)
- CB Jeff Okudah (quad) — Still on IR, in evaluation window
- S Jimmie Ward (groin)
Full practice
- RG Shaq Mason (hip) — upgraded from limited on Wednesday
- IOL Jarrett Patterson (concussion)
