Lions, Vikings Week 8 Injury Report: Jahmyr Gibbs Sits With Shoulder Injury

The Detroit Lions (4-2) will host the Minnesota Vikings (6-0) in Week 8, and both teams were on the practice field on Wednesday, preparing for their Sunday afternoon battle at Ford Field. The Lions have only a few injured players this week—Amon Ra St. Brown and Ennis Rakestraw were injured in Week 7—but they also elected to rest several injured players on Wednesday; most, if not all, are expected to return to practice this week.

“We’re going to do a walkthrough and then roll right into practice for a little bit here,” Lions coach Dan Campbell explained at Wednesday’s press conference. “I think those guys (St. Brown and Rakestraw) will be at walkthrough, but I don’t see them out there during the practice portion. I’m going to hold a couple of other guys back just to get them off their feet, but they’ll be at walkthrough.”

Additionally, the Lions received terrific news on Wednesday, as All-Pro safety Kerby Joseph is now healthy enough to practice, and the team has started his injury evaluation clock, making him eligible to practice.

Let’s take a look at Wednesday’s injury report and get you up to date with what we know.

Note: Any changes from the most recent injury report will be bolded.

Injured list updates

• RB Isiah Pacheco (MCL/Back, IR) — expected to be out until December
• OL Giovanni Manu (Undisclosed, NFI) — eligible to begin practicing at any time
• OL Ben Bartch (foot, IR) — eligible to begin practicing in Week 10
• LB Devin White (forearm, IR) — eligible to begin practicing in Week 10
• S Kerby Joseph (Knee, PUP) — Injury evaluation clock started on October 28
• S Thomas Harper (Ankle, IR) — eligible to begin practicing at any time

After a few hints on social media, Kerby Joseph is officially returning to practice. Here’s coach Campbell on the decision:

“We’re going to start Kerby’s clock today. So, he’ll be running around. Start working him in. He’s put in a lot of work; it’s been a long, hard road for Kerby. So, just being able to get back out there with the guys and run around a little bit. But we will kind of progress him as we go, each week here, just to get him back in the flow, the movement, the flow, the pounding, and all of it. But he’s passed every test to this point, and the next thing is to get him running around now. The strength in the knee is good, and the thigh, the quad, and all of that. So it’ll be great to get him back out there with all the guys.”

Joseph has 21 days to be evaluated by the team before they need to decide on his status, but they can return him to the active roster at any time.

No practice

• RB Jahmyr Gibbs (shoulder) — Injured in Week 7
• WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (ankle) — Injured in Week 7
• OT Penei Sewell (rest)
• DT Alim McNeill (rest)
• DT Tyleik Williams (illness)
• EDGE Aidan Hutchinson (rest)
• EDGE DJ Wonnum (rest)

Jahmyr Gibbs had an injury scare after an awkward slide against the Packers, but told reporters he was fine after the game. This shoulder injury appears to be something different, and it’s unclear how concerning it is, especially considering it was not a noticeable problem in the locker room after the game. Additionally, considering the Lions had a lot of players resting, the concern level should remain low.

While St. Brown was injured in Week 7, his absence from Wednesday’s practice was planned, and he is expected to return to practice on Thursday, as Campbell explained on Monday:

“(St. Brown) and Ennis, I think those guys will probably sit Wednesday, but the plan is to get them going Thursday, and I think that they’ll be fine. They should be good.”

Williams is dealing with an illness, and it’s hard to project how that will progress as the week goes on. Though it’s noteworthy that the Lions did add nose tackle Taki Taimani this week to the practice squad.

As for the other four starters, Campbell also noted that their absences are temporary and they are also expected to return to practice this week. This rest day was designed to “get them off their feet” and allow them an extra day to rest their bodies.

Limited practice

• RB Jacob Saylors (neck) — Injured in Week 7
• CB Ennis Rakestraw (ankle) — Injured in Week 7
• S Kerby Joseph (Knee, PUP) — Days remaining in injury evaluation clock: 20

Saylors did not appear to suffer an injury during the game, but can often creep in after the game concludes. Fortunately, a limited practice is a good sign.

While Campbell said he didn’t expect Rakestraw to practice Wednesday, the corner was able to give it a go. An encouraging sign when combined with Campbell’s optimism on Monday:

“It’s not major, he’s got a little ankle here. We feel like, as of right now, he’ll be at practice on Thursday. That’s kinda what we’re looking at. But we don’t feel like it’s major as of today.”

No longer on the injury report

• C Cade Mays (Wrist)
• CB Rock Ya-Sin (Hamstring)
• S Brian Branch (Achilles)

The players in this section are healthy enough that they no longer need to be included in the Lions’ injury report.

Vikings’ initial injury report

Here’s what Kevin O’Connell had to say before practice:

No practice

• RB Aaron Jones (knee)
• LG Joe Huber (knee)

Limited practice

• RT Brian O’Neill (knee)