Detroit Lions injury updates: What we know about Kerryon Johnson, Jamal Agnew, Teez Tabor

The Detroit Lions are officially on their bye week, and it comes at a pretty good time. Not only do they get to sit on a divisional win for an extra week, but the team left Sunday’s victory pretty beat up. Running back Kerryon Johnson, and cornerbacks Jamal Agnew and Teez Tabor all left the game against the Packers and did not return.

Per usual, the Lions did not provide specific updates on their statuses after the game, but here’s a recap of what we know based on the information we do have.

Kerryon Johnson

An injury to the Lions’ best running back could have the biggest impact on the team. However, it outlook is bright for the Lions’ rookie running back. He told MLive after the game that if he was truly needed in the fourth quarter, he thinks he would’ve been able to come back in.

“Yeah, I think I could have (played, if needed),” Johnson said per Kyle Meinke. “If I can walk, I can run, so that’s just the mind-set I’ve always tried to play with. If I needed to, I think I could have.”

Former NFL doctor David J. Chao was similarly optimistic about Johnson’s status. Though Chao obviously hasn’t inspected Johnson on his own, he has been somewhat accurate in diagnosing injuries via video. Here’s what he had to say via a Periscope video from Sunday night:

With an extra week of rest, it certainly seems realistic to think Johnson won’t even miss a single game, but we’ll see how his ankle responds Monday morning.

Jamal Agnew

The news doesn’t see quite as positive for the Lions’ punt returner and 2017 fifth-round pick. Agnew suffered a knee injury, and there are several bad signs that it could be long term. First, after needing help to walk to the sidelines, Agnew was forced by doctors to take the cart to the locker room. Just a few minutes later, the team declared him OUT for the rest of the game. It’s never a good sign when the team doesn’t go with “questionable” in the middle of the game and moves straight to “out.”

Still, it’s too early to conclude anything, and we may know more if additional medical tests are done on Monday.

Teez Tabor

It’s hard to know exactly how serious Teez Tabor’s groin injury is. On one hand, Tabor was only listed as “questionable” to return during the game. On the other hand, he never returned.

Tabor was spotted in the Lions’ locker room celebration video and seemed pretty upbeat, though walking with a minor limp (he’s in the black shirt and pants right up front):

Hopefully we’ll hear more about all three players’ statuses before the players break for the bye week, but given the team’s policy with reporting injuries... we’re not holding our breath.