| 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‘ coronavirus caseload is growing, but for now it has not impacted Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings.
The Lions placed a player on the reserve/COVID-19 list Thursday for the third straight day — practice squad safety Jalen Elliott.
Elliott joins quarterback Matthew Stafford and linebacker Jarrad Davis on the list.
Stafford tested negative for the virus, his wife Kelly said Thursday on Instagram, but was in close contact with an infected person. If he returns negative test results the next three days, he will be eligible to play Sunday.
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Davis, the first Lions player to go on reserve/COVID since the start of training camp, was placed on the list Tuesday.
The Lions sent eight players to reserve/COVID upon reporting for training camp in July, then went more than three months between cases.
Lions coach Matt Patricia played semantical games before practice Thursday when asked if the Lions had more COVID-19 transactions coming, saying “no one in the building was impacted by Matthew Stafford going on the list.”
On Wednesday, Patricia similarly said the team would not have any absences related to Davis’ test. Hours later, Stafford landed on reserve/COVID.
Elliott, an undrafted rookie out of Notre Dame, was one of the first Lions who tested positive for COVID-19 in July. He spent 16 days on reserve/COVID, and was removed Aug. 14.
His most recent case is not related to either Stafford or Davis, a Lions source said.
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NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said by email that Sunday’s 1 p.m. kickoff between the Lions and Vikings remains on as scheduled.
The league shuffled a number of games earlier this season due to COVID outbreaks, moving some games to differnt days in the same week and eliminating some teams’ bye weeks. The Tennessee Titans, who had two games rescheduled, had 23 team members — 13 players and 10 staffer members — test positive for COVID.
Both the Lions (3-4) and Vikings (2-5) already have had their byes.
Injury update
Offensive linemen Taylor Decker (back) and Halapoulivaati Vaitai (foot) returned to practice Thursday, but the Lions still were down one of their top six linemen as guard Joe Dahl was out with a back injury.
Dahl, who finished last season on injured reserve because of back problems, made his second start of the season in last week’s loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
Wide receiver Kenny Golladay (hip), return man Jamal Agnew (ribs) and safety Tracy Walker (foot) missed practice for the second straight day and are in danger of missing the Vikings game.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.