Detroit Lions downgrade WR Josh Reynolds to OUT vs. Giants

The Detroit Lions will continue to be shorthanded at wide receiver this week. The team announced on Saturday afternoon that starting receiver Josh Reynolds has been downgraded to OUT for Sunday’s game against the New York Giants.

Reynolds suffered a back injury during practice a couple weeks ago, and this will be the third game he misses due to the injury. On Thursday, he returned to practice and seemed potentially optimistic about returning.

“Feeling pretty good, man,” Reynolds told the media that afternoon. “Felt good to be back out there with the guys. It’s been too long. So, just still taking it one day at a time and just kinda keep working on it.”

Unfortunately, Reynolds did not practice on Friday, suggesting his body did not react well to the one day of practice this week.

This leaves the Lions with just the following receivers currently available on the 53-man roster to play against the Giants: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Kalif Raymond, and Tom Kennedy.

However, the Lions will likely have some reinforcements on the way. DJ Chark, who could be activated from injured reserve later on Saturday, returned to practice this week. Chark has not played since Week 3 after suffering an ankle injury. A deep threat for Detroit, Chark only had seven catches for 98 yards and a touchdown in the first three games of the season.

Additionally, the Lions have regularly promoted receivers from the practice squad for gameday, including Maurice Alexander, Stanley Berryhill, and Brandon Zylstra. Even if Chark is activated, expect at least one receiver to get promoted from the practice squad to give the Lions depth vs. the Giants.