The Detroit Lions had their first official practice of Week 1 on Tuesday in preparation for their game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. While we won’t get an official injury report until Wednesday, we were on hand for the afternoon practice and were able to take attendance.
Among the players on the 53-man roster, the Lions were missing three players:
- RB Sione Vaki
- WR Isaac TeSlaa
- LB Trevor Nowaske
Vaki, the team’s fourth-string running back, has been dealing with an injury on and off for the entirety of training camp. He missed a big portion
of camp with a nagging hamstring injury, and during the final practice of the summer—joint practices with the Texans—he left early with an undisclosed injury. Lions coach Dan Campbell noted after the preseason game that Vaki’s injury isn’t considered serious, but could hold him out longer than center Graham Glasgow, who is expected to play in Week 1.
“Vaki—we’ll see. That would be a tick longer, but it’s not a major thing,” Campbell said.
As of right now, there are no updates on TeSlaa or Nowaske. After roster cutdowns, the Lions traded away veteran receiver Tim Patrick, leaving many to believe that TeSlaa was in for an early, significant role on offense, and it’s hard to imagine the Lions making that move if the rookie receiver is dealing with a serious injury. That said, something could have happened between the trade and now. At this point, we’ll just have to wait until Wednesday’s injury report drops to explain his absence. The same goes for Nowaske, who didn’t display any noticeable injuries when we last saw him on the field.
The good news is that everyone else who was battling injuries was present for Tuesday’s practice. Glasgow was out there practicing, and Campbell even noted that “we’re good,” with where he’s at. Safety Kerby Joseph was also at practice after battling a knee injury for most of camp.
Full details on the Lions’ practice should be released around 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
