After the Detroit Lions played an overtime game ahead of a quick turnaround before Thursday Night Football, there were some injury concerns. Lions fans who have unfortunately grown accustomed to piling injuries early in the season feared the worst.
On Wednesday, they received a concerning injury update. The Lions released their injury report before the clash against the Bills. For the third straight day, they listed Christian Mahogany and Blake Miller as "No Practice" and ruled them out for the game.
To make matters worse, cornerback DJ Reed was listed as a limited participant and had a "questionable" designation for the game.
Lions are already dealing with serious injury concerns ahead of Week 2
It's important to note that the Lions only conducted walk-throughs due to the short turnaround. These designations are based on estimates, so it's difficult to know the severity of Reed's injury.
Mahogany's absence is the least surprising one. Even though head coach Dan Campbell said that he didn't suspect the starting left guard's injury to be a long-term, serious issue, it's difficult to imagine any player who couldn't finish the game on Sunday would be ready to play on Thursday.
Mahogany lasted 11 offensive snaps in the season opener before he accidentally kicked his own foot and caused an overextension, which resulted in a hip injury. It looks like he is avoiding the injured reserve list, however, which is a great sign.
Miller's absence is more surprising. Even though the rookie suffered an ankle sprain in the first half against the Saints, he didn't miss a snap. But he is listed with a knee injury right now, so it's not clear how serious the issue is.
The frustrating part of it all is that Miller hadn't missed a single game throughout his collegiate career at Clemson. Once he joins the Lions, however, it takes him less than a week into the regular season to miss his first game.
There are also no details about Reed's injury, but it has seemingly popped up out of nowhere. He will be a game-time decision, but this doesn't bode well for Detroit's already struggling defensive backfield.
The offensive line will be the one to watch on Thursday. Detroit already lost starting center Cade Mays before the season. Now, they will be without three starters in Week 2.
We can expect veteran Larry Borom to get the start in Miller's absence. At left guard, it will be Ben Bartch's turn. Bartch did a decent job replacing Mahogany on Sunday, and he will even have a chance to win the starting job outright if he can hold his own in Buffalo.
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