Report: T.J. Lang expected to pass baseline concussion tests this week

Monday morning started with some bad injury news, with Adam Schefter reporting the Detroit Lions are expected to place Jamal Agnew on injured reserve. However, later in the morning Schefter dropped some positive news regarding the Lions’ injury situation.

According to the ESPN reporter, Lions starting right guard T.J. Lang is no longer experiencing any fogginess from his concussion and the outlook looks good for him passing concussion protocol this week.

“If he passes his baseline test this week — and there is optimism and an expectation that he will — Lang would be expected to play next Sunday at Miami after Detroit’s bye this week,” Schefter wrote.

Lang suffered a concussion—at least the fifth of his career—in Week 4’s game against the Cowboys. He did not practice the following week in the lead-up to the Packers game,and obviously didn’t play in that contest either. However, it looks like the two weeks of rest may have been enough to get him healthy for Week 7.

Of course, this is just the beginning for Lang. He’ll have to prove throughout the week that he has no symptoms after some action on the practice field. To pass the NFL’s concussion protocol, a player must experience no setbacks after practicing in full, including with contact. The Lions aren’t expected to practice this week until Wednesday, so we’ll have to wait until then to see how Lang is progressing.

If Lang can give it a go this week, it’ll be a big boost for the Lions offensive front. While Lang’s replacement, Kenny Wiggins, hasn’t been awful in two starts this year, he’s a clear downgrade from Lang. Wiggins currently holds a Pro Football Focus grade of 44.0 to Lang’s 72.1. The Lions’ offensive line remains one of the best in the league with or without Lang, but it’s undoubtedly better with him in the lineup.