Detroit Lions Week 10 injury designations: Josh Reynolds OUT, D’Andre Swift good to go

The Detroit Lions have declared their Week 10 injury designations ahead of their matchup with the Chicago Bears and starting wide receiver Josh Reynolds has been ruled out. While his absence will hurt the Lions offensive potential, they did make solid progress with some of their other injured players and could return several to the field this week.

21-day evaluation clock

• FB Jason Cabinda (ankle, PUP) — Day 10

“Yeah, we’re hopeful,” coach Dan Campbell said of Cabinda potentially returning this week. “We’ll see what it looks like today (Friday) and that’ll tell us a lot going into this game, how he looks and feels. But he’s put in a couple of days' work and then we’ll see how he is today.”

If Cabinda is ready to be removed from the reserve/PUP list, it will likely happen on Saturday.

Ruled OUT

• WR Josh Reynolds (back)

Unable to practice all week, Reynolds will miss his second game in a row which puts the Lions in a bit of a tough spot with their starting wide receivers. Amon-Ra St. Brown and Kalif Raymond will surely start, but that third spot is up for grabs and could be a rotation of Tom Kennedy—who started last week in place of Reynolds—or recently re-signed Trinity Benson, who has deep threat potential but has only been back with the team for a week.

Of note, DJ Chark is eligible to return from injured reserve after this weekend, and he previously told Free Press Dave Birkett that he was expecting to get back on the field quickly. If Reynolds also makes steps forward, the Lions receiver group could potentially get a big boost in Week 11.

Doubtful

• OT Matt Nelson (calf)

Nelson got in three limited practices this week, but a doubtful designation indicates he will probably not be ready to play on Sunday. With the team traveling on Saturday, it’s possible he gets downgraded ahead of the team departing for Chicago if they think he needs to remain in Allen Park for rehabilitation—which is a common approach.

Questionable

• LB Malcolm Rodriguez (elbow)
• NB Chase Lucas (ankle)
• S Kerby Joseph (concussion) — no longer in a red no-contact jersey
• S Ifeatu Melifonwu (ankle)

At his Friday morning press conference, Campbell told the media that Joseph had cleared all the concussion protocols up to this point and was expected to play on Sunday. A few hours later, at practice, Joseph shed his no-contact jersey and was a full participant on Friday. He indeed looks good to play.

Rodriguez is still in an arm brace, so how much he will be involved is a bit of an unknown at this stage. With a questionable designation, he could potentially miss the game altogether, but he has been practicing in a limited fashion all week, so he appears to be on track to try and play.

Lucas and Melifonwu returning would be nice depth for the secondary but neither got in a full practice this week, and after missing the last several games, they may not yet be ready to contribute. We will likely find out their statuses on Sunday when inactives are announced.

No injury designation

• RB D’Andre Swift (ankle, shoulder)
• RB Jamaal Williams (veteran rest)
• C Frank Ragnow (foot)

Swift saw limited practices on Wednesday and Thursday but was a full participant on Friday. Coaches have been saying his health has been trending up but how much he will be involved is still undetermined. A full practice is a good sign he may be in line for more touches than he has seen the previous two weeks.

Regardless of how involved Swift is, Williams figures to be a significant part of the Lions game plan this weekend. He got a nice veteran rest day on Wednesday but has been back in full since.

Ragnow was limited on Wednesday but got in full practices on Thursday and Friday. His foot injury has, and probably will linger, but he has been able to play through it.

Bears injury designations:

The Bears could be without two of their starting defenders: