Detroit Lions Week 6 injury report: Sam LaPorta, 7 others miss Thursday practice

The Detroit Lions injuries continue to mount as the week rolls on. The newest addition to the injury report is rookie tight end Sam LaPorta, who was not at practice on Thursday as the team prepares for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Let’s take a look at Thursday’s report.

Note: Any new changes from yesterday’s injury report will be bolded.

No practice on Thursday

• RB Jahmyr Gibbs (hamstring)
• RB Zonovan Knight (shoulder)
• TE Sam LaPorta (calf) — New injury
• TE James Mitchell (hamstring)
• LG Jonah Jackson (ankle)
• C Frank Ragnow (toe/rest) — likely a veteran rest day
• DB Brian Branch (ankle)
• CB Emmanuel Moseley (knee) — torn ACL, expected to be placed on IR

LaPorta suffering a mid-week injury is not ideal timing, as we saw with Gibbs and Mitchell last week. With such a short amount of time to heal up before traveling on Saturday, this has the potential to be problematic. As of right now, only Brock Wright and Darrell Daniels remain healthy among the tight ends group.

On a positive note, Gibbs and Mitchell were both practicing with trainers after showing up on the injury report late last week with hamstring injuries. It’s too early to tell is they’ll be available for Sunday, and with a Saturday travel day looming, they may need to make solid progress on Friday.

Jackson missing a second practice is not ideal, but the Lions do have options at guard if he is not able to play, including Halapoulivaati Vaitai, Kayode Awosika, and Colby Sorsdal.

Ragnow missing practice is likely part of his routine, as he tends to get a veteran rest day at least one practice per week.

Branch has also previously been working with trainers (on Wednesday), but him still not returning to practice is concerning for this week’s availability. Will Harris would be the next man up to start if Branch can’t play.

Moseley and Knight were both injured in last Sunday’s game and both appear to have problematic injuries. Moseley’s ACL injury means he is surely headed for injured reserve on Saturday, while Knight may be headed there as well, after exiting Ford Field with his shoulder in a sling following the game.

Limited practice

• N/A

Full Practice

• WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (abdomen)
• LT Taylor Decker (ankle)
• CB Khalil Dorsey (illness) — evaluation clock started, days remaining: 20

St. Brown is trending in the right direction to returning to the field, which would be a big boost for the Lions’ ability to attack the middle of the field.

“This week is a new week. I feel good,” St. Brown said Thursday. “I feel ready. So we’ll see,”

Decker continues to play through an ankle injury but it looks like he’s on the tail end of the recovery process and should be good to go as long as there’s no setback.

Dorsey started his return-to-play evaluation clock this week and multiple full practices are an encouraging sign he may be activated from injured reserve. It’s very possible, Dorsey will be added to the roster as a corresponding move to placing Moseley on injured reserve.

Buccaneers injury report

Here’s a look at the Buccaneers' Thursday injury report:

Did not practice:

• LB Shaquil Barrett (illness) - NEW

Limited practice:

• WR Mike Evans - UPGRADED

Full practice:

• OT Luke Goedeke - UPGRADED
• DT Calijah Kancey
• LB Anthony Nelson
• LB Devin White
• LB SirVocea Dennis
• CB Jamel Dean
• CB Derek Pitts
• S Ryan Neal