Eric Ebron, Golden Tate return to Lions practice

Well, that was quick. Just a few hours after a report surfaced that Eric Ebron, barring a major setback, would be ready by Week 1 of the regular season, Ebron was back participating in practice Tuesday afternoon.

It has only been two weeks and three days since Ebron went down with a scary injury during the Detroit Lions’ mock game at Ford Field. Initial reports hinted at a season-ending Achilles injury, but those were quickly dismissed after Ebron was spotted walking around without any support on his leg. Even though the team remained silent in the following two weeks, things kept looking more and more optimistic for the Lions’ tight end.

Ebron still has some healing to do, however. According to reports out of camp, he was not even close to a full participant in practice. Though he was wearing full pads and a helmet, he sat out of most drills open to the public.

Ebron is unlikely to play in Saturday’s third preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens, but this is a huge step in the right direction for his recovery.

As Justin Rogers’ tweet above suggests, Golden Tate also returned to practice on Tuesday. Tate had sat out the previous two practices with an unknown injury, but was seen running on the sidelines on Sunday. Now that he has returned to practice in full, he’ll almost certainly be ready for the regular season. The Lions could possibly sit him out this week as a precaution, though.

Elsewhere on the injury front, Michael Ola and Corey Robinson continue to sit out of practice. Many consider those two the primary offensive tackle backups behind Riley Reiff and Taylor Decker. If both of those players are sidelined for Saturday’s game, it would be a big opportunity for the likes of Cornelius Lucas, Luke Marquardt and Chase Farris to make an impact on the field.

Rookie center Graham Glasgow and safety Isaiah Johnson remain sidelined, while Don Carey returned back to practice after taking a day off.