Lions coach Dan Campbell announced that WR/RET Kalif Raymond will open his 21-day injury evaluation window and begin practicing.
On Thursday, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell announced that WR/RET Kalif Raymond will open his 21-day injury evaluation window and begin practicing.
Raymond injured his hamstring in Week 12 against the Indianapolis Colts and was placed on injured reserve with the expectation that he would be able to return to the team at some point this year. After missing four games, this was the first opportunity to return to practice, but it sounds as if the Lions are planning on taking it slow with him during practice this week.
“He’ll start practicing (Thursday),” Campbell said. “We’ll see where he is at. I don’t feel as confident with him (returning to the active roster this week), as I do with Germ [Jalen Reeves-Maybin], but it’s good to have him back out practicing, it’ll be good to have him back out there running around.”
While Raymond is returning to practice, he still remains on injured reserve while under evaluation. Over the next 21 days, the Lions will assess where he is at in his recovery and have the option to remove him from injured reserve at any time. Typically, Detroit takes their time in their return-to-play decisions, often using much of that evaluation window to decide, but there are circumstances where a player accelerates quickly and can return after just a few practices, as Ifeatu Melifonwu did last week.
In Raymond’s absence, the wide receiver room has given more snaps to Tim Patrick and Allen Robinson, with some sprinkling in of Tom Kennedy and Maurice Alexander (now on the Lions practice squad). Alexander originally took over Raymond’s punt return duties but Kennedy has since passed him on the depth chart and taken over the role. On kick returns, we’ve seen a collection of players field kickoffs, the most consistent being Craig Reynolds and Sione Vaki. When Raymond officially returns, expect him to step back into his WR4 and return duties.