Fortunately, the news is mostly good, as the majority of injured players are expected to play in this Sunday’s game, with only defensive back Ifeatu Melifonwu’s—and likely defensive tackle DJ Reader’s—status being in flux.
Melifonwu is currently dealing with an Achilles injury, and according to Campbell, it’s been something that has been lingering for some time, and the the healing process is “slow moving.”
Campbell has previously mentioned that Melifonwu didn’t have a clear recovery timeline established, and the team needed to take its time and deal with things as they come. On Monday, Campbell said the plan was to test Melifonwu out later in the day, but they still are not sure how far along he is in the recovery process.
“Yeah, Iffy [Melifonwu] will be the only one right now who’s still not sure, still not sure on him,” Campbell said. “We’re going to try to get him moving around a little bit today and tomorrow and see where he’s at. Everybody else we’re good.”
While Campbell said the remaining injured players were good, it’s worth pointing out he was likely not including Reader in this group because Campbell had previously told the media the bulking nose tackle likely wouldn’t be ready until Week 2 — though he did leave the door open just a bit.
“I would love to say we’re targeting that (Week 1). We’re just going to take it as it comes,” Campbell said of Reader ahead of cutdowns. “We’d always said, long term, that we were kinda shooting for (Week 2 vs.) Tampa [Bay]. Look, our eyes are open, and we’re going to pay close attention and see how he does, how he feels, and kinda go from there if it’s sooner.”
While it’s possible Reader could come back early, it’s worth noting that when discussing the defensive tackle depth for Week 1, Campbell identified Alim McNeill, Levi Onwuzurike, Josh Paschal, and Mekhi Wingo as players they needed to count on this week. This further points to Reader still targeting Week 2 as a potential return to game action.
The injured Lions players expected to be ready include starters Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta, Kevin Zeitler, Carlton Davis, and Terrion Arnold, as well as Malcolm Rodriguez and Ennis Rakestraw, all of whom returned to practice over a week ago.
The Lions’ official injury report is due out on Wednesday, and we will provide a more detailed update once practice participation levels have been released.
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