Detroit Lions OTA Week 2 injury updates, participation report
The Detroit Lions were a little more shorthanded during Week 2 of Organized Team Activities (OTAs) than they were the previous week. Some of the injuries we already knew about, some are new, and some could simply be excused absences.
Coach Dan Campbell explained that the purpose of these OTAs is to improve mentally, so they aren’t going to take any physical risks.
“We do have a number of guys that we are going to sit, just to be smart with today,” Campbell said. “So, I know you guys are going to want to know—we’re going to probably have 10, 12 guys out, and it’s just preventative. Let’s just be smart there again. It’s not about the physical right now. It is more about the mental and making sure that we can get guys healthy and ready for camp, training camp July.”
That also may explain why a few notable veterans were out on Thursday.
Let’s get into it.
Not in attendance
(Bolded is new from last week)
Note: This is just a list of players I did not personally see. It’s entirely possible these players were at practice without a jersey on, but I did not spot or identify them. They definitely were not practicing.
WR Marvin Jones Jr.
G Logan Stenberg
C Frank Ragnow
EDGE John Cominsky
DT Isaiah Buggs
DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson
There are a few veterans among this bunch, so their absences shouldn’t be too much of surprise. Outside of Ragnow, who is likely still managing his workload for the lingering foot injury, it’s unclear if any of the other players are dealing with an injury or if they have an excused absence.
Present, but not practicing
(bolded is new from last week)
QB Hendon Hooker
RB David Montgomery
WR Trinity Benson
WR Antoine Green
G Kayode Awosika
G Halapoulivaati Vaitai
DT Levi Onwuzurike
LB Malcolm Rodriguez
CB Emmanuel Moseley
DB Chase Lucas
David Montgomery and Malcolm Rodriguez remain sidelined after suffering lower-body injuries during last Thursday’s practice, but coach Dan Campbell offered a promising update on both.
“Neither one of them are going to practice today. It’s nothing serious,” Campbell said.
As we covered earlier, the news is somewhat promising for Levi Onwuzurike, who continues to do a significant amount of work with trainers at practice. Campbell revealed that he was only just recently cleared for running on the field, though, so he’s not expected to be a full participant in practice until at least the start of training camp.
“Certainly, we are hoping that we get him in camp at some point, but I can’t give you a timeline of that right now,” Campbell said.
Vaitai was there and had a helmet, but I did not see him do much of anything, including walkthroughs. Last week, he told media that they were managing his reps following his back surgery last year, so this is not a surprise. In his place, Graham Glasgow played right guard, while Ross Pierschbacher played center with the first-team offense, with Frank Ragnow still out.
Not much else to say about everyone else in this group. Moseley continues to go through mental reps during some of the walkthroughs at beginning of practice,
Back after missing last Thursday’s practice
RB Craig Reynolds
G Jonah Jackson
DT Benito Jones
CB Steven Gilmore
Reynolds and Jackson were both back in the fold, with Jackson back in his starting spot at left guard and Reynolds part of the running back rotation with the first-team offense. While Benito Jones was back, it was still Christian Covington in the starting lineup next to Alim McNeill with Isaiah Buggs still out.
Source: Pride Of Detroit
