Lions injury update: Swanson, Agnew, Freeney miss practice; Stafford looks fine

The Detroit Lions returned to practice on Wednesday after an extended holiday break from their Thanksgiving Day game against the Minnesota Vikings. Despite the extra time off, the Lions are a bit hobbled going into Week 13’s game against Baltimore Ravens.

In addition to losing Tavon Wilson for the season with a shoulder injury, starting center Travis Swanson also left the game and did not return. Swanson was not in attendance for Wednesday’s practice and could very well miss his second game of the season. However, Justin Rogers of the Detroit News noted that Swanson was “working on the side.”

If he can’t go, the Lions will play Graham Glasgow at center. The question would then become who would be the Lions’ starting left guard. Corey Robinson assumed the role after Swanson left Thursday’s game, but second-year guard Joe Dahl also returned to practice this week (though he currently remains on IR).

The Lions’ other guard, T.J. Lang, also missed Wednesday’s practice. At this point it’s unclear whether this was a veteran day off for him—he’s missed several practices due to various injuries this year—or if it’s a new injury.

Additionally, the Lions’ kick/punt returner Jamal Agnew remained sidelined on Wednesday. Like Swanson, however, Agnew was working on the sidelines, suggesting he may be close to a return.

Agnew missed all of last week’s practice after suffering a knee injury against the Bears two weeks ago. Agnew has been one of the best return men in the league, leading all NFL punt returners with an average of 16.8 yards per return and two touchdowns.

Finally, newly acquired Dwight Freeney also did not practice on Wednesday. We don’t know whether this is injury related or if the Lions are bringing him along slowly as he adjusts to his new team. With the Seahawks, Freeney had taken a couple Wednesday practices off, but they were not injury related. We’ll have more information on Freeney’s status once Wednesday’s injury report is released.

The good news for the Lions is that Matthew Stafford practiced and is expected to play this week.

Reporters on hand said that Stafford “looked fine” during Wednesday’s practice, and he didn’t appear to be limping as he dismounted from his weekly press conference.

The Lions will submit an injury report later on Wednesday, so we’ll get a little more clarification on these injuries around 4 p.m. ET.