Detroit Lions Week 5 injury report: Amon-Ra St. Brown ‘feeling good’ despite missing 2nd practice

The Detroit Lions were back on the practice field on Thursday, but unfortunately, they were still missing a couple key starters, including wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and defensive back Brian Branch.

The Lions still have another practice before they need to declare their final injury designations for their Week 5 game against the Carolina Panthers, but Detroit fans might, understandably, be getting a bit anxious about possibly missing their superstars.

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

No practice on Tuesday

• FB Jason Cabinda (knee)
• WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (abdomen)
• DB Brian Branch (ankle)

St. Brown continues to get in some intense work with trainers off to the side of the practice field, but at this point in the week, he is still not seeing practice reps. While not participating in back-to-back practicing is concerning, St. Brown told the media that right now it’s a pain management issue and his goal is to get his body comfortable enough to play this weekend.

“It’s just a little abdominal injury. I’m feeling pretty good,” St. Brown said. “I was running today. I actually think I might have hit one of my top speeds the other day, so I’m feeling pretty good.”

Being the tireless worker that St. Brown is, it’s tough to imagine he might miss a game because of pain, but the team has been very cautious with injuries this season, making sure not to turn a one-week injury into a season-long injury. Still, when asked if he was going to play this week, he said, “That’s my goal, yeah.”

Branch missing a second straight practice is not overly surprising after what we saw from him last Thursday night. As much as he worked to get back in the game, the ankle just wouldn’t cooperate.

Cabinda has not practiced for almost two weeks, which is not a great sign for his availability. Last week the Lions turned to Darrell Daniels to fill in on offense and that may be the solution again this week.

Limited practice

• WR Josh Reynolds (groin)
• LT Taylor Decker (ankle)
• RG Halapoulivaati Vaitai (knee)
• EDGE Julian Okwara (shoulder) — evaluation clock has begun, days remaining: 18
• CB Emmanuel Moseley (knee/hamstring)
• S Kerby Joseph (hip)

Reynolds played through his injury last week and getting in two practices this week is an encouraging sign for his potential availability.

Decker continues to trend in the right direction after it looked like he may have suffered a setback last week. He still may not be 100%, but the odds are he is headed toward playing.

Vaitai is also trending in the right direction and his return could get the Lions starting five offensive linemen back on the field again. If Vaitai needs another week, Graham Glasgow has been more than solid starting at right guard in his stay.

Okwara continues to practice as part of his evaluation process but he still technically remains on injured reserve. If the Lions want him to be available this weekend, they’ll need to activate him to the 53-man roster, a move which would likely come on Saturday, if it happens this week. Okwara still has over two weeks of available evaluation time remaining, if he requires it.

Moseley appears to be on track to make his 2023 debut this week, as the Lions plan on giving him limited reps to begin his acclimation process to gameplay.

Joseph also looks on track to play this weekend after missing the last two games. A third practice this week could seal the deal for him returning to his starting role.

Full Practice

• WR Jameson Williams (not injury-related)
• C Frank Ragnow (toe/rest) — back practicing after a veteran rest day

Williams remains on this list because he is returning to football this week after his suspension was reduced. He is no longer dealing with the hamstring injury he had before his suspension began.

Ragnow was back at practice after getting a veteran day off earlier in the week. Another routine week as Ragnow manages his lingering toe injury.

Panthers injury report

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