Monday Notes: Calvin Johnson Misses Practice

by Sean Yuille on Aug 11, 2008 1:45 AM EDT in Notes Comment 0 comments

After having Friday off, the Lions returned to their indoor field on Saturday and had an early evening practice in helmets and shorts. The Lions then went back to their usual two-a-days format on Sunday and practiced in both the morning and afternoon. Both sessions were held in helmets and shorts.
If you didn't check out Pride of Detroit over the weekend, then you may want to catch up on some transactions that happened and had an effect on the Lions. For starters, Jason Hanson is out for at least a week (probably more) due to an injury, so the Lions waived Eddie Johnson and signed former Michigan State kicker Dave Rayner. Similarly, Stanley Wilson is done for the season, so the Lions replaced him with cornerback Kiwaukee Thomas. Also, Detroit released and signed a pair of offensive linemen.

Finally, in a move that indirectly affects Detroit, the 49ers signed linebacker Takeo Spikes, who at one time appeared to be close to joining the Lions.
Due to a bruised leg, wide receiver Calvin Johnson didn't participate in practice on Sunday and is day to day according to Rod Marinelli. Also absent from practice were Jon Bradley, Cory Redding, Langston Moore, John Owens, Gilbert Gardner, and the three players on the PUP list.
Although Kevin Smith practiced with the starting offense on Sunday, Rod Marinelli says that we shouldn't read into it as "there's no rotation right now."
Dave Rayner is excited to play for the Lions.
Decisions about what to do if the Lions win the coin toss will be made on a game-by-game basis.
Marinelli was "pleased" with the way Lions rookies played in Thursday's preseason opener against the Giants.
If you caught any of the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills over the weekend, you may have noticed Ben Curtis, who finished tied for second, was sporting Lions gear throughout the tournament. Quite a few people were wondering if he was a Lions fan or was just doing it because he was in Michigan, but actually Curtis has a sponsorship deal with Reebok to sport NFL clothing, so he was wearing Lions apparel for contractual reasons.
Also an interesting note from the PGA Championship is that the winner of the tournament, Padraig Harrington, is the second cousin of former Lions quarterback Joey Harrington.