| The Detroit News
After popping up on the injury report with a concussion on Thursday, the Detroit Lions aren’t optimistic about D’Andre Swift’s chances of being cleared ahead of Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers.
“It makes it difficult,” Lions coach Matt Patricia said Friday morning. “We’ll see what the rest of today looks like and then, obviously, put all that (information) into play when we put our injury report out. But it is difficult.”
The team is required by the league to release an injury report by 4 p.m. each day. On Friday, that report includes designations for the upcoming game, so Swift could officially be ruled out later today.
Swift practiced fully on Wednesday and spoke with the media shortly after the session, creating uncertainty with the timeline of his injury. It wouldn’t be unusual for symptoms to set in hours later, or even the next day, but it also opens up the possibility the injury occurred off the field.
Patricia respectfully declined to offer any specifics on that timeline, other than dismissing the hypothetical that the rookie had been involved in a car accident.
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“Well, I think that’s definitely part of the unknown of how the brain and how concussions and how those things kinda appear,” Patricia said. “That’s why we take ’em really serious. … I mean, with that stuff, there’s such an unknown there. We just treat the symptoms when they come up.”
The timing is unfortunate for Swift, who is coming off his first start and the best performance of his debut season. Assuming he’ll be sidelined against the Panthers, the Lions will turn to their backfield depth, headed by Adrian Peterson and Kerryon Johnson.
“We have great players in that position and confidence in all those guys,” Patricia said. “With Adrian, with Kerryon and (Jonathan Williams), we’re good. We’ll just keep rolling with those guys, too, if they’re out there. And if Swift is out there, great. I think that’s really just part of the mentality of making sure you have enough depth at the running back position that you feel comfortable with.”