When the Detroit Lions activated veteran defensive end Romeo Okwara from the PUP list prior to Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the expectation was Okwara would make his 2022 debut in Week 12.
But mere hours after activating Okwara, his name was listed as one of the inactive players for Detroit. It was an odd situation, one that Lions head coach Dan Campbell was asked about on Monday.
“We just wanted to give (Romeo) just a little bit more time,” Campbell told reporters. “He’s close, but yeah, we wanted to see how he was. He had a pretty good load last week, let him wake up Sunday morning, how did he feel, all that, and now, here we go. Let’s see where he’s at Wednesday.”
Okwara tore his Achilles in Week 4 of the 2021 season and has not played since. He kept his recovery and workout regimen largely private. The Lions activated Okwara prior to Week 13 after designated him to return to action the Monday before Thanksgiving, along with rookie WR Jameson Williams.
Williams made his NFL debut, playing eight snaps and not catching any passes. The Lions have made it a habit to bring players back from injury slowly, something they’ve also done with CB Jerry Jacobs and DE Josh Paschal already this season.
Expect Okwara to make his debut in Sunday’s home date with the NFC North rival Minnesota Vikings.
