Detroit Lions Week 16 injury report: Frank Ragnow, DeShon Elliott miss practice Wednesday

The Detroit Lions are taking on the Carolina Panthers in Week 16, and after holding a walkthrough on Tuesday, they were back on the practice field on Wednesday.

21-day evaluation clock

• WR Quintez Cephus (foot, IR): Day 15 (latest update)

The Lions continue to be healthy at wide receiver, so there is no rush to bring Cephus back, and it’s possible they use the entire 21 days to evaluate him. If he is activated for this weekend’s game, that would likely come on Friday.

No practice on Wednesday

• FB Jason Cabinda (illness)
• C Frank Ragnow (foot)
• G Kayode Awosika (ankle)
• OT Matt Nelson (not injury related)
• S DeShon Elliott (shoulder)

Like most players dealing with an illness, the team is taking it slow with Cabinda, hoping things will run their course ahead of the game on Saturday.

Ragnow’s participation level for this practice is mildly concerning, especially considering he will be heads up on one of the Panthers' best players in Derrick Brown. But he has routinely taken it light on Wednesdays throughout the season, so there is still some optimism he is just resting the foot for the big matchup.

Awosika continues to miss practices and things are not looking good for the Lions’ top reserve interior offensive lineman. Nelson, another reserve lineman, was out for undisclosed reasons.

Elliott missed Wednesday’s practice as expected, based on coach Dan Campbell’s comments on Tuesday.

“I would say right now, he’s looking like he probably won’t be able to make it,” Campbell said. Later adding, “As of right now, it doesn’t look very promising, but there again, we’re going to see how he feels every day.”

Limited practice

• LT Taylor Decker (elbow)
• RG Evan Brown (ankle)
• LB Derrick Barnes (knee)

Decker has gotten light practices early in each of the last three weeks but has been able to return to action on game day. This appears to be the case again this week.

Brown looked like he was still working through some ankle pain last game—not uncommon for an injury that kept him from playing three weeks—but being able to practice, at any level, is encouraging for his ability to start against the Panthers.

Barnes getting on the field on Wednesday is the first real step towards returning to game action. He will likely still need some more practice time under his belt before returning to game action, but this level of participation is a good sign.

Full practice

• DT Michael Brockers (illness)

Brockers is feeling better, and even if the Lions don’t need him available on the field, his leadership in the locker room is important enough that Campbell has mentioned it twice so far this week.

“Look, we do have a few guys now,” Campbell said of the Lions players’ playoff experience. “Brockers has been through it. He’s been through it. Jamaal (Williams)’s been through it. Alex (Anzalone) has been through it. Just this type of football, so we’ve got some guys. But other than that, we are young but you can use those guys to draw from.”

Panthers injury report

Here’s a look at the Panthers’ Wednesday injury report:

LB Joel Iyiegbuniwe (hamstring) — Limited
CB Jaycee Horn (shoulder) — Limited
TE Ian Thomas (thigh) — Limited
S Myles Hartsfield (ankle) — Full
CB C.J. Henderson (ankle) — Full