Team news: Detroit Lions | Page 7

Amon-Ra St. Brown (ankle) is practicing Saturday, Kyle Meinke of MLive.com reports.

Great news for owners who picked up St. Brown this weekend. St. Brown injured his ankle during a mid-August practice but never seemed to be in serious danger of missing the upcoming Thursday night opener against Kansas City, according to the story. The story went on to say it's unclear if he'll even be listed Monday when the Lions and Chiefs release the first official injury reports of the 2023 season. St. Brown looks good to go for Week 1 at this point.

As the Lions’ RB competition unfolded, there weren’t many players who separated themselves. Injuries to Jermar Jefferson and Mohamed Ibrahim didn’t help, and the sudden retirement of Justin Jackson came as a surprise. When Craig Reynolds got the bulk of the carries in the first half of the preseason, it felt like you could pencil him in as RB3. However, the Lions’ initial 53-man roster has just two true running backs: Montgomery and Gibbs.

Not that many were worried about either option coming off the field after they spent so much monetary and draft capital on the two, but it's still a relief to know they're not part of a three-back rotation. It sounds as if Reynolds could be back on the team, as he's not subject to waivers. There will likely eventually be an RB3 on the roster, but it's clearly an afterthought for the team.

Diontae Johnson, George Pickens, and Allen Robinson will be the Steelers’ starters, with Calvin Austin holding down punt return duties and Miles Boykin adding speed and special teams duties at the back of the rotation.

Related Players: Gunner Olszewski

A forgotten piece in Fantasyland, Robinson has the ability to make some noise in 11 personnel, which the team figures to use extensively. In typical redraft leagues, he figures to be a guy coming off and back on waiver wires throughout the season, but makes for a great pick deep in best ball leagues, particularly when you have Kenny Pickett on your roster.

On Tuesday, head coach Dan Campbell gave a positive update on Amon-Ra St. Brown’s condition.

“He’s doing good, he’s doing good. We weren’t going to play him in Carolina, but he’s doing great,” Campbell said, via the team.

St. Brown won’t be playing this week, and it doesn’t sound like there’s much concern about his ankle. The team added they never planned to have the wideout in the lineup against the Panthers. St. Brown got hurt in practice last week and did not play against the Jaguars last Saturday. We rank him 10th among our WRs heading into drafts.

Head coach Dan Campbell added that WR Amon-Ra St. Brown will likely be back on the field between Monday-Friday of next week after a small ankle injury suffered yesterday.

Related Players: Marvin Jones, Josh Reynolds, Denzel Mims, Kalif Raymond

It doesn't seem to be anything to be concerned about, but we'll keep an eye on it. The wide receiver depth chart looks iffy, with Jameson Williams suspended until October and now nursing a hamstring injury that will keep him out of the rest of the preseason. Rookie tight end Sam LaPorta may be a bigger part of this offense than most were expecting.

Lions’ WR Jameson Williams has a hamstring injury that is likely to sideline him for the remainder of the preseason.

Related Players: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Josh Reynolds, Marvin Jones, Kalif Raymond

Another setback for what has been nothing short of a dramatic beginning to a career. The next time we see Williams on the field will be in mid-October, following his gambling suspension. This opens the door for other Lions options to pick up the slack alongside St. Brown, as the sophomore wide receiver has to be thought of as an easy fade at his 11th-round ADP.

The Lions are signing QB Teddy Bridgewater after a recent visit to Detroit. A new backup QB.

Related Players: Jared Goff, Nate Sudfeld, Hendon Hooker

The Lions are signing the 30-year-old quarterback after a July 24th visit and have been in talks with him since March. This solidifies the fact that we are unlikely to see Hendon Hooker in any capacity as he continues to recover from a torn ACL, but it provides a great opportunity for mentorship. Bridgewater has made 31 starts over the past three seasons and offers a great option without much of a dropoff if something were to happen to Goff.

Sam LaPorta has been taking first-team reps since Day 1 and doesn't look out of place at all. He's still got a lot to learn, but all indications are that he's a quick study and his receiving skills are really advanced for a young tight end. He's going to play a big role in this offense starting Week 1.

Related Players: Brock Wright, James Mitchell

You love to see it. For a team that set a tight end TD record despite trading away T.J. Hockenson halfway through the season, fantasy managers are expectedly excited for the rookie's fantasy prospects. Detroit TEs went for 784 yards on 93 targets last year. La Porta is firmly on streaming radars right out of the gate.

After missing camp and the first 11 games of his rookie season, while recovering from an ACL tear in his left knee, the second-year Detroit Lions receiver Jameson Williams will also sit the first six regular season games of 2023 due to suspension for violating the NFL’s gambling policy.
Lions coach Dan Campbell says they’ll “douse him with a ton of game reps” during the upcoming preseason contests against the New York Giants, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Carolina Panthers.

Related Players: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Marvin Jones, Josh Reynolds, Denzel Mims

The article goes on; "Williams returned from a leg injury to participate in his first padded practice of the summer on Monday, struggling at times with drops and during 1-on-1s in the red zone."

With only 37 routes run through six truncated games to begin his career, it's obvious that this is not what Detriot had in mind when selecting him with the 12th-overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. If everything goes to plan during his time away from the team, Williams *should* be able to operate as the team's WR2 by the end of 2023, which will push down the veterans playing opposite St. Brown. Amon-Ra remains a very interesting selection in this year's fantasy drafts, but we'll have to slightly temper expectations in the back-half of the season with the return of Williams and the addition of receiving-game specialist rookie Jahmyr Gibbs.

It’s feared to be an Achilles injury for Broncos WR Tim Patrick, per Sean Payton

Related Players: Marvin Mims, K.J. Hamler

This likely means the end of the season for Tim Patrick. Mims will be the most intriguing name to be following throughout the rest of camp, and should be the favorite to find himself in 3WR sets.