As the Detroit Lions begin their preparations for Washington, the injury list just seems to keep growing. On Wednesday, the Lions were missing seven players, including five starters.
Chief among those players is quarterback Matthew Stafford, who was again at practice but not going through any of the drills. Lions head coach Matt Patricia indicated the plan for Stafford is currently the same as it was last week and that his status remains “week-to-week.”
“He’s kind of on the same program,” Patricia said. “He’ll be out at practice, he’s out on the field, he’s helping us with a lot of that stuff. He can do some things that he can do from that standpoint, but we’re still in the same ballpark with that week-by-week as far as that goes.”
Also missing from practice was defensive end Trey Flowers and starting center Frank Ragnow. Both players suffered concussions during Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys and both remain in protocol.
Defensive tackle Da’Shawn Hand remains out from the ankle injury suffered against the Oakland Raiders, and fullback Nick Bawden missed practice after suffering an early knee injury last week against the Bears.
Meanwhile, safety Tracy Walker is out after suffering knee injury last week. He had just returned to the lineup after missing two games with another knee injury. At this point it’s not clear if it was an aggravation of the previous injury, and Walker would not confirm nor deny that during his media session on Monday.
In positive news, right tackle Rick Wagner returned to practice after missing last week with a concussion. It’s unclear if he has fully cleared concussion protocol yet, but Wednesday’s injury report should provide more clarity when it’s released later in the day.