The New England Patriots will be in town in just a few days, and they’re likely bringing a brand new toy with them. Wide receiver Josh Gordon practiced with the Patriots on Wednesday and he’s going to bring a new aspect to New England’s already-feared offense.
Unfortunately for the Detroit Lions, they may be short one of their best weapons to neutralize Gordon and quarterback Tom Brady. Cornerback Darius Slay missed his second consecutive practice on Thursday due to a concussion he suffered in a helmet-to-helmet collision during the third quarter of his contest with the San Francisco 49ers.
The Lions have already made a move in the secondary, re-signing DeShawn Shead to the squad despite cutting him just before the season started. Shead is a big, physical corner who started 15 games with the Seahawks in 2016 before suffering a torn ACL in the postseason. Since then, he’s been working his way back into playing shape, and appeared to be on the track to compete for a starting job in Detroit. But another minor injury and inconsistent play made him expendable during roster cuts.
If Slay can’t work his way out of concussion protocol before Sunday, Shead will like get some playing time alongside Nevin Lawson and Teez Tabor, both of whom have struggled in the first two weeks of the season.
Elsewhere, Ezekiel Ansah (shoulder) and T.J. Lang (back) were both at practice and fully padded. Last week, Ansah was present at each practice, but he wasn’t able to play on Sunday. Thursday marks the first time since his Week 1 injury that he participated with shoulder pads on.