Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown is expected to miss Wednesday’s practice but return Thursday as he deals with an ankle injury suffered in Sunday’s win over the Green Bay Packers.
Head coach Dan Campbell offered a cautious but optimistic outlook for the receiver ahead of the Lions’ Week 8 home game against the Minnesota Vikings.
“I think, like, he and Ennis, I think those guys will probably sit Wednesday,” Campbell said. “But the plan is to get them going Thursday, and I think they’ll be fine; they should be good. Now, we will see when we get there.”
Campbell grouped St. Brown with cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr., who is also dealing with an ankle issue. Both players are viewed as likely to be available Sunday, though nothing has been confirmed.
St. Brown left the field briefly during the Lions’ 20-17 victory but returned and finished the game. He caught nine passes for 153 yards, his highest receiving total of the season and better than the 142 yards he posted on nine catches in a Week 2 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Through six games, St. Brown has 46 receptions for 525 yards and five touchdowns. Those numbers rank among the league’s best at the position and keep him as a central part of Detroit’s passing attack.
He played 53 of 68 offensive snaps against the Packers, or 77.9 percent of the total. That marked the second-lowest snap share of his season after he logged 48 snaps, or 74 percent, earlier in the year.
The reduced participation was the clearest on-field sign of the ankle problem. St. Brown has otherwise been durable, appearing in 89 games across his first six NFL seasons outside of late-season contests with no playoff implications.
The Lions improved to 4-2 with the division win and sit third in the NFC North. Minnesota leads the division at 6-0, followed by the Chicago Bears at 5-2. Green Bay is 4-3.
Detroit faces its first of several division matchups over the next 10 weeks when it hosts the undefeated Vikings. The Lions also have three division games after Week 15 and two more to close the regular season.
The team entered the Packers game after its bye week and is looking to build momentum during a stretch that will heavily influence the NFC North race. A loss to Minnesota would leave Detroit further behind in the standings heading into the second half of the schedule.
St. Brown has described his early-season play as solid.
“Five games into the year, I feel like I’ve been playing decent ball,” he said before the Packers game.
Campbell’s measured comments reflect standard caution with a star player, but St. Brown’s history of limited absences and the relatively minor description of the injury point toward him being available against the Vikings.
The Lions will monitor his progress through the rest of the week before making a final decision on his status for Sunday.
