| Detroit Free Press
Breaking down where Detroit Lions go after deflating loss to Colts
Free Press sports writers Dave Birkett, Shawn Windsor assess the damage after the Detroit Lions’ loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Filmed Nov. 2, 2020.
The Detroit Lions will be without top defensive end Trey Flowers until at least Thanksgiving because of an injury he suffered in Sunday’s loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
The Lions placed Flowers on injured reserve Monday, but head coach Matt Patricia indicated Flowers should return this season.
Players on IR must miss a minimum of three games.
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Flowers had seen his snaps decrease in recent weeks as the Lions used a defensive line of Danny Shelton, John Penisini and Nick Williams on primary run downs, and played ends Flowers and Romeo Okwara together in obvious passing situations.
Flowers has two sacks this season and three quarterback hits through seven games. He had seven sacks and 21 quarterback hits in 2019 after signing a mammoth contract in free agency.
Patricia said Flowers’ IR trip was related to an injury he suffered Sunday, and not a cumulative effect from the season.
The Lions did not announce an injury to Flowers during Sunday’s game, but he appeared to hurt his right shoulder in the fourth quarter. Flowers missed most of his rookie season in 2015 with a shoulder injury, and underwent shoulder surgery before signing with the Lions.
“Some of the snap reduction was just because he had been playing a lot of snaps and we’re always conscious,” Patricia said. “Trey puts his entire body on the line every single play. This was a new injury that happened yesterday.”
With Flowers out, both Okwara and the newly acquired Everson Griffen are in line for expanded roles at defensive end.
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Okwara leads the Lions with five sacks, all in the Lions’ past five games, and has a fumble recovery and forced fumble in the past three weeks.
Griffen, who played the first seven games for the Dallas Cowboys, is expected to join the Lions for practice Wednesday after clearing the NFL’s five-day COVID-19 protocol following his Oct. 27 trade. He had 2½ sacks for the Cowboys.
Second-year defensive end Austin Bryant also is eligible to return from the physically unable to perform list this week.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.