Amon-Ra St. Brown went to his first football game in Green Bay last winter, after his final season at USC, but the rookie receiver never got to step foot in Lambeau Field even though his brother, Equanimeous, was playing for the Packers that day.
“COVID protocols,” St. Brown said. “I was just in Green Bay at his house watching the game, and he only got two tickets and my parents took those.”
St. Brown finally will get to walk on the same Lambeau turf his brother has played on the past three seasons when the Detroit Lions visit the Packers in their first road game of the season Monday night.
The St. Browns are one of 16 brother combinations currently in the NFL, and one of three sets of siblings with ties to the Lions. Romeo and Julian Okwara are teammates in Detroit, and safety C.J. Moore’s twin brother, A.J., is a safety for the Houston Texans.
Lions cornerback Ifeatu Melifonwu’s brother, Obi, is a free agent after he was released from injured reserve by the Philadelphia Eagles this week.
Equanimeous St. Brown caught seven passes for 117 yards for the Packers last season and currently is on Green Bay’s practice squad.
“It’s going to be fun,” Amon-Ra St. Brown said. “I’ve never played against my brother in anything. ‘Cause when you’re younger and (your brother is) three years older, that age difference is really, it’s a lot when you’re younger. So being in our 20s now, we’re finally all evened out and it’s going to be fun to finally play against him, see him on the other sideline and talk to him after the game, or even before the game, too.”
St. Brown caught two passes for 23 yards in his NFL debut last week against the San Francisco 49ers, when he played the second-most snaps of all Lions receivers, and could be in for an even bigger role Monday.
Tyrell Williams, the Lions’ No. 1 receiver, is in concussion protocol from a helmet-to-helmet hit he took in the second half of the 49ers game. If Williams cannot play Monday, St. Brown could join Kalif Raymond in the starting lineup.
“We’re all ready in the receiver room,” St. Brown said. “We prepare every day like we’re going to play, so I think just going each and every day into practice, knowing injuries happen and things can happen in the game, just going in, making sure you’re in your playbook, knowing all the plays so that if something does happen you’re ready to go.”
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St. Brown said he planned to call his brother this week and figure out a friendly wager the two could place on the game.
“Lambeau Field is very historic, a nostalgic feeling,” he said. “So it’s going to be awesome. Being a kid you watch games there, Monday Night Football. You dream of playing in that game, so finally being here, being able to play in that stadium on Monday night is going to be exciting.”
Briefly
The Lions signed two veterans to their practice squad Wednesday, adding receiver Geronimo Allison and cornerback Daryl Worley. Allison was with the Lions in training camp, while Worley has played for seven NFL teams since entering the league as a third-round by in 2016. Neither Williams nor defensive tackle Kevin Strong practiced Wednesday.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.