Now that the Detroit Lions have had some time off with the bye in Week 6, it’s time for a quick update on several of the injured players. Head coach Dan Campbell offered some tidbits on a few Lions who have been battling injuries.
Here’s the latest on players like Jerry Jacobs, Josh Paschal, Romeo Okwara and more as the Lions prep for the Week 7 trip to Dallas to play the Cowboys.
Jerry Jacobs
Jacobs tore his ACL in Denver last December. The second-year CB has been aggressively rehabbing to get back on the field, and his return from the PUP list is imminent.
The Lions started the three-week clock to activate Jacobs before the bye. He’s been cleared to return to practice. Campbell said, “Jerry continues to get better” on Monday.
Of all the players here, Jacobs is the most likely to take the field in Week 7. But where will he play, outside or in the slot? Campbell weighed in there, too:
“We all feel like he’s got some flexibility in the coverage. The only thing is – as he continues to progress physically, get his legs back under him, he’s doing a good job, and man, he’s all in, all out. And it’s just making sure that as he continues to progress, that we put him in a position where he can have success. That doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t be slot, it’s just he wasn’t able to go through practice in camp and run those, and so I think the first thing you’d be thinking is outside is where he’d be competing at.
The good news about Jerry is, man, when he’s physically ready, I mean, you know you can take him to the game because he’s going to help on special teams immediately, and so now you’ve got him to the game, and now it’s OK, hey, you sprinkle him in outside or maybe we do feel good at nickel. But look, he brings value to the roster at a minimum just to have on gameday because he does so many things.”
John Cominsky
Cominsky has been sidelined for the last three games after undergoing wrist surgery following the win over the Commanders in Week 2. The versatile defensive lineman has not been on injured reserve.
Like Jacobs, the prognosis for Cominsky is very good.
“I know Cominsky — it looks pretty promising for him,” Campbell said Monday.
Cominsky is still in a protective wrap around the wrist. The injury occurred to the inside of the wrist below the thumb.
Romeo Okwara
Here’s what Campbell said of Romeo Okwara, the defensive end who tore his Achilles in Week 4 of the 2021 season,
“He is progressing. He’s doing a good job. There again, the Achilles just happened at a different rate, but he’s doing a good job and you guys know Romes. I mean he puts in the work now, but it’s coming. It’s just when he’s ready, he’ll be out there.”
Campbell indicated there was a chance Okwara could play in 2022.
Jason Cabinda
Cabinda, the Lions’ starting fullback, has been on the PUP list with an ankle injury suffered prior to training camp.
While Cabinda has been a visible presence at Lions practices, he is not quite ready to roll just yet. Campbell indicated Cabinda is “on track” in his recovery but that it was unlikely to see him vs. Dallas.
Jameson Williams
The first-round wideout is still recovering from January surgery to repair his torn ACL. Williams has offered up periodic video updates of his progress and it looks encouraging, but Campbell cooled off the enthusiasm that Williams could possibly return this week.
Campbell grouped Cabinda and Williams together in an update in his Monday presser, and the lack of info on Williams was conspicuously quiet,
“Yeah, I don’t see any of those guys – they’re all on track. I think Cabinda’s coming in a hurry, but I don’t know if I necessarily see them this week.”
Prior to the Week 5 game, the most likely timetable for Williams’ return was the Thanksgiving game against the Buffalo Bills.
Levi Onwuzurike
Bad news here. Onwuzurike has been ruled out for the season after undergoing back fusion surgery during the bye week. The second-year DT has not played all season. He aggravated the back injury, which dates back to 2019 in college, on the very first rep of padded practices in training camp.
“I mean that’s a – it’s a last resort. But we felt like that was – he felt like that’s where he needed to go with it and saw a number of doctors, and so we’ll see where it goes,” Campbell said of the long-term outlook for Onwuzurike.
Josh Paschal
Paschal is still on the PUP list after having core muscle surgery (sports hernia) in August after injuring himself in OTAs. As with Jacobs, the Lions started the activation clock on Paschal before the bye, meaning Detroit has two more weeks to either activate Paschal or place the second-round defensive lineman on IR for the rest of the year.
“Paschal had another good week last week,” Campbell said. “I mean we’ve only had a couple practices, but he’s put two weeks back-to-back that have been pretty good, so we’ll see where he’s at.”
Expect Paschal either this week or in the Week 8 home date with the Miami Dolphins.
