With safeties Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph both beginning the season on the reserve/physically unable to perform list, the Lions desperately need the rest of its defensive backfield and safeties to remain upright.
Safety Thomas Harper played in just the Lions' opening preseason game at the Cincinnati Bengals as he dealt with an ankle injury throughout training camp.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell said on Aug. 26 that defensive back Christian Izien could miss the opener with an unspecified injury. Per Pride of Detroit's Jeremy Reisman, Avonte Maddox also suffered an apparent injury on the final play of Lions training camp on Aug. 27.
On Monday, Campbell was asked for an injury update on his group of safeties. The Lions' sixth-year head coach didn't
go into detail on Izien or Maddox's statuses, but he did share good news on Harper.
"Yeah, well, we feel (good). Harper’s going to be running around out there today. And then hopefully everything goes well today. We see him taking more reps tomorrow and so we’re anticipating he’ll be ready to go. So, we feel good about that room right now," Campbell said.
Harper, 25, played in 12 games with the Lions last season, registering 37 tackles, five passes defended, one interception and one forced fumble.
The Lions signed Izien during NFL free agency in March and re-signed Maddox in April.
Originally an undrafted free agent out of Rutgers, Izien, 26, played in 45 games and started 15 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers over his first three NFL seasons. Izien has recorded 165 tackles, five passes defended, three interceptions and three forced fumbles in his career thus far.
Maddox played in 14 games with the Lions last season, starting three. The 30-year-old defensive back totaled 32 tackles, had four passes defensed and an interception last season with the Lions.
The 5-foot-9, 191-pound defensive back has played eight NFL seasons, playing in 95 regular-season games and starting 44.
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This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Lions injury update: Thomas Harper expected to be ready vs. Saints
