Detroit Lions placing Darius Slay, Damon Harrison on non-football injury list

Though the Detroit Lions avoided a holdout from Darius Slay and Damon Harrison Sr. at the start of training camp, both players will not be out on the practice field for Day 1. Head coach Matt Patricia announced on Thursday morning that both players, along with defensive tackle Darius Kilgo, will be placed on the Non-Football Injury list.

“Just another tag that we’re allowed to use when we come into camp so that guys, when they report into camp, if we feel need a little more time before they’re thrown into individual drills,” Patricia said.

It’s unclear if there’s an actual injury involved, but it’s common for players to be placed on the NFI list for conditioning reasons. Though both players went through personal workouts and practices this offseason, they spent all of it away from the Lions, choosing to skip out on minicamp and organized team activities.

NFL rules allow the Lions to take any player off the NFI or Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list at any time during training camp. However, once they’re off, they’re off for good. In other words, don’t expect any of those players on the sidelines for too long.

In addition to those three players, Trey Flowers, Tommylee Lewis and Steve Longa remain on the PUP list as the Lions open training camp practices on Thursday morning.