Detroit Lions Week 1 Tuesday Practice Report: Injured Players Return

The Detroit Lions have now started their preparations for a season-opening contest against the New Orleans Saints.

Ahead of Sunday's matchup at Ford Field, the Lions took the field for practice on Tuesday afternoon to continue their tune-up process.

With Tuesday being the first practice with a heavy workload, it was the first opportunity to see which players could be in danger of missing Sunday's game due to injury.

Fortunately for Detroit, the Lions had every member of their active roster in attendance and participating according to league sources. Only Devin Cochran, an offensive tackle on the practice squad, was out of action.

Safety Thomas Harper was on the field practicing on Monday afternoon after dealing with a injury near the end of training camp. Campbell updated his status by stating he anticipates Harper getting a bigger workload on Tuesday.

"Harper's gonna be running around out there today. And then, hopefully everything goes well today, we see him taking more reps tomorrow," Campbell said. "We're anticipating he'll be ready to go. We feel good about that room right now."

Campbell's statement about Harper came in response to a question about the safety room as a whole, and the head coach did not provide an update particularly about Christian Izien.

The Lions placed two players on injured reserve in the last week. Center Cade Mays (wrist) was placed on the injury list on cut day with a designation to return, while running back Isiah Pacheco was added to IR in the following days.

Safeties Kerby Joseph (knee) and Brian Branch (Achilles) both remain sidelined while on the Physically Unable to Perform list. Campbell said that Joseph was back in the building after being away for some time due to a personal matter.

Additional Detroit Lions NFL Insider Analysis: Running Back Jahmyr Gibbs Listed Among Biggest Winners of Offseason

One thing learned during preseason

In a recent Sports Illustrated piece highlighting one thing learned during the preseason about each NFL team, the Lions have seemingly found the player that can be trusted to backup veteran quarterback Jared Goff.

As writer Eva Geitheim explained, "After Teddy Bridgewater suddenly retired, the Lions signed Josh Dobbs, who solidified himself as the team’s backup quarterback behind Jared Goff. In the final preseason game against the Colts—a contest that saw Indianapolis play some of its starters—Dobbs completed 15-of-19 passes for 128 yards, two touchdowns, and no picks in his best preseason performance. Goff has been durable for the Lions and has not missed a game since the 2021 season, his first in Detroit, but the Lions have found a good backup."

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