Here is a look at the Detroit Lions’ Week 1 injury report. The Detroit Lions will host the Los Angeles Rams in a rematch of last year’s Wild Card Round game in the season opener on Sunday night.
Many of their injury concerns from training camp and the preseason have been alleviated, and as is customary going into the first game, there is a brief injury report for Week 1. The Lions have released their official Week 1 injury report, including game status for Sunday night.
S Loren Strickland (thumb)-Out
S Ifeatu Melifonwu (ankle)-Doubtful
DT DJ Reader (quadricep)-Questionable
Head coach Dan Campbell’s unclear statements concerning Melifonwu’s condition following the preseason finale raised questions about his availability for the season opener.
According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, this week’s update indicated an Achilles’ injury. Campbell expressed doubts over Melifonwu’s participation in Sunday’s game on Friday morning, citing his uncertain status.
Campbell felt more positive about Reader on Friday morning. The Lions’ biggest free agent signing missed the whole training camp while recovering from a damaged quad tendon.
The idea was for him to participate in Week 2, but the season opener was not completely ruled out. Being categorized as dubious. Campbell stated that if Reader plays against the Rams, he will most likely be on a snap count.
“Yeah, he looked pretty good during practice,” Campbell said. “Now it’s only a question of how much he can play. And does that mean he’ll be able to get a little more next week, or is it simply a sit back and we’re just about even right now?But, gosh, he’s been getting better every day; he took a lot more yesterday, which was great.”
Strickland, the undrafted rookie from Ball State who made an unexpected run for a spot on the 53-man roster, did not practice this week and will be out Sunday night.
With Melifonwu and Strickland presumably out, the Lions now have three healthy safety on the active roster (Kerby Joseph, Brian Branch, and Brandon Joseph). Erick Hallett has been with the team for a little more than a week and could be promoted to the practice squad.
Here’s a look at the Week 1 injury report for the Rams.
OL Jonah Jackson (shoulder)-No designation
WR Puka Nacua (knee)-No designation
OL Rob Havenstein (ankle)-Questionable
CB Cobie Durant (hamstring)-No designation
CB Tre’Davious White (Not injury-related/rest)-No designation
The Rams notably placed starting cornerback Darious Williams on IR Thursday, after he “re-tweaked” a hamstring injury.
Los Angeles appears to have a problem with their offensive line. This week, left tackle Alaric Jackson will serve the first of his two-game ban. The former Lion Jackson will play center after missing most of training camp with a shoulder issue, while right tackle Havenstein is classified as questionable.
