Allen Park — Detroit Lions guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai took a hit to the back earlier this week, costing him a day of practice, but he avoided serious injury to the area he had surgically addressed last year.
“He actually took a shot in the back, more than, ‘Ah, I get torqued,’ whatever,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “So he was just a little sore. He’ll be back out there today (Friday). We’ll see what he does. He’ll have some limited reps but he’s back.”
In his fourth season with the Lions, Vaitai missed the entire 2022 campaign after suffering the back injury during the preseason. The previous year, he started 15 games at right guard and didn’t surrender a single sack.
The Lions faced a difficult contractual decision with the veteran lineman, who carried an outsized salary given the durability concerns, but the two sides were able to come to an agreement with Vaitai taking a significant pay cut, while also knocking off the final year on his five-year contract he signed with the team in 2020.
The Lions also added veteran insurance by re-signing veteran Graham Glasgow this offseason after he spent the past three seasons in Denver. Prior to Vaitai’s injury, he and Glasgow had been rotating reps with the first-team offense, competing for the starting right guard job.
In addition to Vaitai, Brian Branch was also expected to return to practice on Friday morning. According to Campbell, the rookie safety missed Wednesday’s session with a foot injury. Meanwhile Marvin Jones (back), defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson (knee) and wide receiver Jameson Williams (leg) remain sidelined.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers