Allen Park — We’ll give you the good Lions injury news first.
Running back D’Andre Swift was a participant at practice on Wednesday and told the media afterward he was “pushing to” play this weekend in Dallas.
Swift started his third NFL season by averaging 8.6 yards per carry before injuries took him out of action for the Lions’ last two games, most recently a 29-0 shutout loss to the New England Patriots.
“It is tough. It’s tough. Like I said, all I can do is control what I can control, and it’s getting better,” Swift said about his ankle and shoulder injuries, the latter of which he said is currently more bothersome.
“It’s football. Everybody is going through stuff, injuries, but some stuff you play through, some things you can’t. You try to play through ‘em, but it is what it is. At some point, you gotta keep going.”
He said that he’s explored additional equipment options to protect his shoulder, such as the harness worn by Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook, but said that for his specific injury — a sprain — he hasn’t been able to find a comparable aid.
Swift missed seven games over his first two NFL seasons. In his rookie year, he missed time with a concussion and in 2021 he suffered an AC joint injury during a Week 12 loss to the Chicago Bears. He was publicly challenged over the offseason by running backs coach Duce Staley to fight through injuries that might be deemed as minor and said that dealing with these injuries have made him tougher.
“That’s how I’m built. … I mean, I sprained an ankle the second quarter of the Eagles game. Y’all probably didn’t even know that,” Swift said. “But just trying to push through, and if it’s something minor I can push through, I will, no questions asked. … But some things, you’ve just gotta let it heal. If you don’t, it’ll make it worse.
“(It was) rough early on. When you first get injuries, you kind of think like, ‘Is this just my luck?’ It’s the cards I’m dealt with. I can’t do nothing but control what I can control. I can’t really sulk about it, can’t be sad about it. It’s football. It’s what I signed up for.”
Swift said that he’s done a little bit of self-scouting during the time he’s been resting, and while he’s pleased with the run game’s success so far, he still sees plenty to clean up.
“I feel like I can get better at everything,” Swift said. “Vision, pass protection, yards after the catch, better between the tackles, better outside, all aspects of the game, I feel like I can get better at, so always room for improvement.”
Lengthy injury report
The Lions’ injury report was a lengthy one on Wednesday.
No practice: Linebacker Chris Board (knee), wide receiver DJ Chark (ankle), offensive tackle Taylor Decker (personal reasons), defensive end Charles Harris (groin), safety Ifeatu Melifonwu (ankle), offensive tackle Matt Nelson (calf), cornerback Bobby Price (knee) and wide receiver Josh Reynolds (knee).
Limited: Defensive lineman John Cominsky (wrist), cornerback Will Harris (hip), center Frank Ragnow (foot) and Swift (ankle/shoulder).
The good news for Detroit is that wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown was a full participant. But still, missing two of the top three receivers is not what the Lions were hoping to see when they returned from the bye week.
Regarding Chark, who’s dealing with a lingering injury in the ankle where he suffered a season-ending fracture last season, and Swift, coach Dan Campbell said: “I would say they’re both a little bit better, and that’s about as good as I can give you right now.”
The severity of Chark’s injury is still unknown.
“Certainly, we don’t want anything to rear its head again, but…I think it’s like anything else. It’s something that’s bothering him, and we’ve just got to get him to where he feels right and get it back to where it needs to be,” Campbell said.
If you were hoping that injuries to Reynolds and Chark might open the door for Jameson Williams’ return, don’t hold your breath. There’s still no timetable on that and Campbell reiterated Wednesday that the Lions wouldn’t rush Williams, who’s coming off a torn ACL suffered during the College Football Playoff, back to action simply because the team’s other receivers are hurt.
“We felt like he’s really turning a corner over the last month,” Campbell said. “I would say we’re pretty optimistic that he’s going to play this year. Now, with that said, the injuries are not going to have any bearing on when he plays. We’re not going to let that affect us.
“When he’s ready, then we’ll get him up and ready to go, but we don’t want to press that just because we have a number of injuries in the receiver room.”
Saivion Smith to IR
The Lions on added safety Saivion Smith (neck/head) on the practice squad/injured list. Smith, a former undrafted free agent in 2019 who landed with the Lions in 2021, suffered a head and neck injury on the first play of his first NFL start against the Patriots in Week 5.
Smith was removed from the field at Gillette Stadium via ambulance and strapped to a backboard but was able to fly home with the team later that night. Campbell provided an update on Smith, saying, “He’s doing good.”
“However, we’re getting some things looked at with him. Actually, we’re sending him to the doctor tomorrow, but we don’t see residual head effects, things of that nature. He’s clear. He’s in good spirits, other than being frustrated that he’s not going to be able to play. So from that regard, he’s good,” Campbell said.
“He has his feeling, all that stuff, but there’s some other things that we’re looking at with him.”
nbianchi@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @nolanbianchi