Detroit Lions place 5 players on PUP/NFI injury list prior to training camp

Detroit Lions rookies have already reported to training camp, and as physicals get underway, the team has announced that five players have been placed on injury lists.

To begin with, defensive tackle John Atkins, linebacker Austin Bryant, defensive tackle P.J. Johnson and offensive tackle Ryan Pope have all been placed on the Active/Non-Football Injury (NFI) list.

Before you start to get mad at these players for getting injured off the field, the Non-Football Injury list can include players who were injured in college, since those injuries did not occur within the NFL. So there is no reason to believe, for example, that Austin Bryant has another injury other than the torn pectoral that required surgery earlier this offseason. As for the non-rookies... well, your guess is as good as mine.

Additionally, the Lions announced that receiver Chris Lacy has been placed on the Active/Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. Lacy suffered an injury during offseason workouts.

With all five of these players, they can come off the list at any time and participate in training camp when they’re ready. However, if they do not return by the end of the preseason, they may be placed on the reserve NFI or PUP lists, which would mean they are ineligible to play for the first six weeks of the regular season.