The Detroit Lions Head Into Their Week 1 Matchup With The Jets As Healthy As Can Be
The NFL can be a harsh world. Year after year the news breaks of superstars tearing ACLs or breaking bones. At times it can feel like the season is over before it starts. This comes as no surprise to the Detroit Lions, having suffered plenty of bumps and bruises over the years. In fact, just last season starting left tackle Taylor Decker was out for the entire first half of the year after should surgery. Decker’s injury caused major issues up front and the offensive line never did seem to fully gel once he returned. That’s just how it goes.
But not this year.
With the opening night tilt against the Jets only days away, the Detroit Lions are showing off one of the cleanest injury reports in the entire league. Until Friday of this week, no player had even missed a practice. This is what dreams are made of.
Detroit Lions
Two players were added to the injury report Friday. Starting defensive tackle Ricky Jean-Francois was listed as missing practice with an illness and reserve offensive lineman Andrew Donnal was added with a knee injury; he did get a limited practice session in anyhow.
Jean-Francois’s illness is worth keeping an eye on, but it’s rare that a player misses game time due to an illness. It’s likely that he has enough time to get himself healthy before the Monday night kickoff, but it certainly may limit his snap count. The Lions do practice on Saturday this week so more info should be available then.
New York Jets
The Jets injury report takes a bit longer to read. The key names to monitor are two starters on defense, linebacker Josh Martin (concussion) and safety Marcus Maye (foot). Neither has practiced this week in any capacity. If Martin passes concussion protocol he’ll be out there Monday night, but his window to do so is closing.
Another key player that just returned to practice in a limited capacity is starting wideout Jermaine Kearse (abdomen). Getting back on the field after missing Thursday is a good sign that he’ll be able to go this week.
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