Story by
Lions get good news on DL injuries as McNeill, Paschal, Onwuzurike return to practice
- Story by
- Lions get good news on DL injuries as McNeill, Paschal, Onwuzurike return to practice
The Detroit Lions are getting healthy on the defensive line, just in time to welcome the NFL's second-ranked offense to town.
Alim McNeill , Josh Paschal and Levi Onwuzurike all returned to Lions practice Wednesday, and DJ Reader worked on the side with trainers during individual drills.
Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alim McNeill (54) pressures Green Bay Packers center Josh Myers (71) during the first half at Ford Field in Detroit on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024.
Paschal (knee), Onwuzurike (hamstring) and Reader (shoulder) missed last week's win over the Green Bay Packers , and McNeill suffered a brain injury in the second half. McNeill still has one final hurdle to clear under the NFL's concussion protocol, but should be cleared to play Sunday against the Buffalo Bills as long as he does not suffer any setbacks after Wednesday's practice.
Advertisement
The Lions have played shorthanded on their defensive line most of the season and hit critical mass last week when they signed Myles Adams and Jonah Williams off the practice squads of the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams and played both heavy minutes against the Packers.
Starting defensive ends Aidan Hutchinson and Marcus Davenport and backup interior linemen Kyle Peko and John Cominsky remain on injured reserve for the Lions.
MORE FROM BIRKETT: Detroit Lions rookie report: Terrion Arnold played 'best game of the season' vs. Packers
The Bills (10-3) are second in the NFL in scoring (30.5 ppg) behind the Lions, have scored at least 30 points in seven straight games and have NFL MVP frontrunner Josh Allen at quarterback.
Advertisement
"Our defense is looking forward to this and this is one of those matchups you really look forward to playing," Lions coach Dan Campbell said. "I love the fact that I know we can cover. The guys that we got, pretty disciplined group up front and we'll see how these injuries go for us. We may have some guys back, we may not."
Left tackle Taylor Decker also returned to practice Wednesday after missing the past two games with a knee injury.
Dave Birkett is the author of the new book " Detroit Lions : An Illustrated Timeline." Order your copy here. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com . Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions injury update: Finally some good news for defensive line
