DJ Chark isn’t sure exactly what’s going on with his sore left ankle, but the Detroit Lions receiver knows enough to believe he will play again this season.
Chark missed his second straight practice with an ankle injury Thursday and likely will miss the game Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys, his third straight. He declined to set a timetable for his return Thursday, when he called his injury “frustrating” and wore a walking boot on his foot as he talked with reporters in the locker room.
“The boot makes it look way worse,” Chark said. “But it’s better than my shoe for right now, so it makes it more comfortable. But it’s nowhere near like, I’ve experienced some things and this is something that I’m very confident in that I can get back on the right track.”
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The Lions’ biggest free agent signing of the offseason, Chark missed most of last season in Jacksonville with a fractured left ankle but appeared to be over his injury in training camp.
He played in the Lions’ first three regular-season games, catching seven passes for 98 yards, but sat out losses to the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots before the bye.
Chark said he took part in a few of the Lions’ bye week practices, but indicated making it through workouts has been a problem of late.
“One of the promising things is I was able to practice, but it’s just kind of like from the beginning to the end of practice it’s like a slippery slope, could kind of go downhill,” he said. “So trying to keep it at a level where I can be competitive. So maybe that was one of the times where I was kind of discouraged a little bit, but it’s also encouraging that I can even go out there and run these routes and things like that, so now it’s just trying to put myself in the best position.”
Chark said he was not comfortable speaking in detail about his injury “because I’m still trying to figure everything out myself.” Before the bye, he told the Free Press there was nothing structurally wrong with his ankle, but Lions coach Dan Campbell said Wednesday that Chark is dealing with more than just a pain tolerance issue.
Chark said he does not need surgery and is wearing the walking boot strictly for precautionary reasons. He said he has not had any conversations with Campbell about going on injured reserve.
“I’ll definitely be back this year for sure,” he said. “Like I said, sooner rather than later. I don’t want to put like one, two games on it, but my goal is to be back.”
The Lions (1-4) should have receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown back in their lineup Sunday against the Cowboys after he missed one game and was severely limited in another by a high ankle sprain. Josh Reynolds, who has been playing through a low ankle sprain, missed his second straight practice Thursday.
Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson compared preparing a gameplan with so many moving parts at receiver to solving a puzzle, and said he’s looking forward to getting Chark back in the lineup.
“There’s no question, DJ, we were hoping would be a big part of our offense this year and his availability hasn’t been there for us,” Johnson said. “So it’s been disappointing from that regard. But when we do get him back, it’ll be really exciting to get him back in the fold.”
More injury news
Along with Chark and Reynolds, defensive end Charles Harris (groin), swing tackle Matt Nelson (calf) and defensive backs Ifeatu Melifonwu (ankle) and Bobby Price (knee) did not practice Thursday. Left tackle Taylor Decker returned after missing practice Wednesday one day after the birth of his daughter.
Chris Board (knee), John Cominsky (wrist), Will Harris (hip), Frank Ragnow (foot) and D’Andre Swift (ankle/shoulder) were limited.
Protect and serve
While most players have stopped wearing the protective “Guardian” cap the NFL required at the start of training camp, Lions linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez was back in his helmet covering this week.
“Just one of those things, just keep myself protected,” Rodriguez said. “They know I like to hit a lot so they just want to protect my head.”
Rodriguez, who has never been diagnosed with a concussion, said he was implored to wear the cap by the Lions’ training and equipment staff in part because of recent stingers he suffered. With the cap on, Rodriguez said he does not have to worry about dialing his hard-hitting ways back in practice.
“Taking precautions,” he said. “I like to get the full-speed reps in practice.”
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.