Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell said receiver Tyrell Williams and defensive tackle Kevin Strong won’t play in Monday night’s game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.
Both players suffered concussions in Sunday’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
Williams is considered the Lions’ No. 1 receiver and best deep threat in the passing game. Trinity Benson, Quintez Cephus and Amon-Ra St. Brown likely would be the best alternate options for deep passes against the Packers.
“Trinity’s got a little bit of juice to him,” Campbell said. “He can run pretty good, he’s got some twitch, I like his route tree, he’s pretty good with multiple routes.
“And then Cephus plays a little bit stronger. Now there are little fundamental things that he’s got to get better at, but I know this, he can play a little bit of bully ball and he can go after the — he can go after it with it being up in the air, which is — he kind of brings that different element to us, which we like. So I think they’re two totally different types of receivers, but I think you need both type of receivers.”
Rookie defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike, a 2021 second-round pick who was inactive against the 49ers with hip and back injuries, has practiced all week and could help fill the void created by Strong’s absence.
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“Obviously we do feel he is trending in the right direction (for playing),” defensive line coach Todd Wash said. “He’s put a lot of work in with our strength staff and our medical staff to get himself into this position.
“But the biggest thing that we’re looking for is for him to play hard. That’s one thing we talk about with our rookie. That’s really the only thing that they can totally control is their effort. So we want to see tremendous effort out of him and just the physical play that we think he’s going to bring. I look forward to really seeing him against good competition and I think he’ll play well.”
Injury report
Starting Kalif Raymond popped up on the injury report Saturday with a thigh injury and was listed as questionable for Monday’s game.
Raymond, whose 69 offensive snaps were the most of any receiver last week, was limited in practice Saturday. The Lions are already without their top receiver, with Tyrell Williams officially listed as out with a concussion.
Running back D’Andre Swift is questionable with a groin injury, though he’s trending upward and had full practice Saturday. Brockers and outside linebacker Trey Flowers (shoulder) also are questionable.
Contact Carlos Monarrez at cmonarrez@freepress.com and follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez.