It seems that the Lions are going to have all their horses for the season opener against the Arizona Cardinals. Ziggy Ansah has been absent for most of training camp and all of the preseason games with a leg injury, but he practiced today for the first time. In a press conference mainly centered around Stafford’s mega-deal, Quinn said at the end that he “expect[s] that Ziggy will be ready for week one”.
This is huge news that may be getting tossed under the rug a little bit with the Stafford signing. Contract extension or not Stafford was always going to be on the field in 2017 for the Lions, and the closer we got to the season the less sure I was about Ziggy. He dealt with an ankle all of last season, and when he showed up to camp on the PUP it was disheartening.
Especially with the d-line being so weak and battered, adding an elite talent back into the fold is a huge bonus. Cornelius Washington has shown decently in his snaps so far, and Anthony Zettel may be able to contribute in a reserve role. It’s tough that Armonty Bryant is suspended four games, but I liked him a lot last year and when he returns they will have a bit more depth. Even though the Lions do rotate their linemen a lot, the week one starting line in Ziggy Ansah, A’Shawn Robinson, Haloti Ngata, and Cornelius Washington really isn’t that bad.
More importantly, with the exception of Kerry Hyder the stadium-banner Lions have made it through camp un-injured. Ebron was back at practice today as well. Even though they got beaten up a little bit by the Patriots in the third preseason game, they didn’t lose a key player like New England did with Edelman. It’s getting close to week one, and the Lions preparation for Arizona has most definitely begun.
