Five Detroit Lions Trending in Right Direction to Play Against Bills

During a stretch of four games being played in 18 days, the Detroit Lions had to navigate a number of injuries.

However, with a little extra time to catch their breath after last playing on Dec. 5, the Lions have gotten healthier ahead of a big game against the Buffalo Bills.

On Friday, coach Dan Campbell gave optimistic updates on Josh Paschal, DJ Reader, Levi Onwuzurike, Taylor Decker and Alim McNeill. Decker and Paschal had been dealing with knee injuries, while Onwuzurike had a hamstring and Reader was dealing with a shoulder ailment.

McNeill is also in good shape after he cleared concussion protocol. As it stands, all five players appear to be on track to play Sunday.

“Looks like Paschal’s gotten through the week pretty good thus far. Reader as well, Levi as well, Decker as well. Mac cleared protocol, so I think we’re trending the right way with all those guys," Campbell said. "Today will certainly be the icing on the cake with those guys, so that’s good. It’s been a good week for us."

The Lions extra time off, though it was only a couple of days, played a major part in allowing the team to recuperate. In addition to helping the recovery process for injured players, it also allowed Detroit to conduct a traditional week of practice after a pair of Thursday games that disrupted the usual flow.

"Felt like a mini-bye, catch your breath for a minute," Campbell said. "We were able to get back and do some of the things that we were doing before we got into the stretch we were in, got some critical work. We know the opponent we’re getting ready to face. This is a really good team. They play high-level football, so we’ve got to be on our game, but we’re looking forward to it.”

Bills 'will be ready' despite canceled practice

Due to inclement weather near their team facility, the Buffalo Bills canceled their Thursday practice and opted to meet virtually. While this puts them at a disadvantage as far as practice time goes, Campbell isn't expecting the canceled practice to have major effects on the result of Sunday's game.

"I don't put anything into that. I think in COVID, I don't even know if we practiced in New Orleans one week and we went out and put up 30. No, I put nothing into that," Campbell said. "That team will be ready, all good. And guess what? If we couldn't practice, we'd be ready. We'll find a way. They're gonna be good, they'll be ready, they'll trim the plan to where they can play fast and allow their guys to do what they need to or use what they did last week. They'll be fine, we know they're gonna get their best shot. We'll have a team that's ready to go."

Note

While the Lions have a generally positive injury outlook, they will likely be without linebacker Trevor Nowaske in Sunday's game. Nowaske was listed on the injury report with a concussion, and Campbell said Friday that there will not be enough time for the second-year linebacker to clear protocol.

The Bills, meanwhile, have already ruled out cornerback Rasul Douglas for Sunday's game.