Lions injury updates: Eric Ebron returns to practice, Matthew Stafford takes ‘rest’ day

Since tweaking his hamstring in the Detroit Lions’ first training camp practice, tight end Eric Ebron has been sidelined. Though he did make a brief appearance during individual drills in a joint practice with the Colts, Ebron has been nursing his hamstring for four weeks now.

That rest came to an end on Monday. Several Lions reporters noted that Ebron was back at practice during Monday’s session.

While it’s good news that Ebron was back on the practice field Monday, it’s still uncertain if he’s ready to be a full participant. The Lions media was only privy to 15 minutes of individual drills during practice, meaning we don’t know if Ebron was healthy enough to partake in team drills.

The Lions also got good news regarding TJ Jones and Cole Wick, both of whom returned to practice on Monday. Jones left Detroit’s Week 2 preseason game against the Jets because of a hamstring injury and did not play on Friday against the Patriots. Jones is in the middle of a camp competition at wide receiver, but may have clinched his spot on the roster after Keshawn Martin was released earlier on Monday.

Cole Wick suffered what looked to be a serious injury after taking a hard shot to the chest against the Patriots. However, his return to practice is a good sign he’ll be ready to go, and he could still compete for a spot on the roster, should Detroit decide to keep four tight ends.

While the Lions got a few participants back at practice, there were a few new names that sat out on Monday.

None of those are huge surpri—wait, Stafford? As in Matthew Stafford?

Yes, Stafford took a day off of practice on Monday, and while he’s literally never taken a rest day as a Detroit Lion, that’s exactly what this was. Per the Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett:

It’s also notable that Tahir Whitehead sat out. Whitehead left Friday’s game with a knee injury, having only played three defensive series. On Sunday, head coach Jim Caldwell said he’ll be okay, and Whitehead seemed to downplay the injury on Twitter after the game, but it appears Detroit is staying cautious with the starting linebacker.