A full look at the Detroit Lions’ final injury report for Week 1 vs. the Rams, and the latest on DJ Reader.
The Detroit Lions have declared their injury designations ahead of their “Sunday Night Football” matchup with the Los Angeles Rams in Week 1 of the 2024 season. The Lions injury report is fairly light—which is not unusual this time of the season—and they only have three players on this week’s injury report.
Let’s take a look at each of those players injury designations for this game.
Ruled OUT
- S Loren Strickland (thumb)
Strickland has not been able to practice all week, so him being ruled out is not a surprise.
Doubtful
- S Ifeatu Melifonwu (ankle) — status for Week 1 “unclear”
“He’s better, he’s better,” coach Dan Campbell said of Melifonwu Friday morning. “We’ll see. I’m not as optimistic about him, but we’ll see.”
Turns out Campbell’s concerns were accurate. Melifonwu started out the week unable to practice, returned mid-week for a tick, then was unable to practice on Friday. The Lions seem encouraged by his progress but have noted several times that this is a slow-moving rehabilitation process.
Unfortunately, with Strickland and Melifonwu unable to practice, the Lions will likely be left with just three healthy safeties on their active roster: starters Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph, as well as reserve Brandon Joseph. Erick Hallett is on the Lions practice squad and could be elevated for depth, but he has only been with the team a short time, which makes that a less likely scenario.
Questionable
- DT DJ Reader (quad) — Week 2 target return date , but Lions keeping the door open
Reader continues to gain praise for his rehabilitation progress and the Lions are very much leaving the door open for him to play this week—though, if he does, he’ll likely be on a snap count.
“Yeah, he looked pretty good,” Campbell said of Reader. “Now, it’s just a matter of, if he plays, how many can he play? […] But he’s continuing to get better every day. He took a lot more yesterday which was good.”
If Reader is limited, or unable to play, the Lions would likely consider elevating Kyle Peko from the practice squad for a game day role. What that role is will likely be determined by how much they believe Reader can play.
“Yeah, we’ll be ready, “Campbell continued. “We have that ability to bring somebody up depending on what happens with Reader.”
Rams’ injury designations
OT Rob Havenstein (ankle) — Questionable