Romeo Okwara did not do much at his first football practice in more than 13 months.
He stretched, he took part in individual drills, and when he met with reporters Thursday for the second time since he tore his Achilles tendon last October, he said that was enough to bring a big smile to his face.
“I feel like I was like finally let to go out on recess,” Okwara said. “I’ve been like locked inside, so it felt really good to just go out there and just like run outside, especially in the snow today. It was a blessing.”
Okwara made his Detroit Lions season practice debut Wednesday, 409 days after he tore his Achilles in a game against the Chicago Bears.
He opened training camp on the physically unable to perform list, detailed some of his grueling mental and physical recovery in August and got the all-clear from his surgeon to return to football last week.
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“It was a huge relief cause it’d been a long, long, long, long journey and I just feel really blessed and lucky to be able to come back and be with this team,” he said.
Okwara’s rehab took significantly longer than that of teammate Jeff Okudah, who ruptured his Achilles tendon last September, who practiced with the Lions all spring and throughout training camp, and has played more defensive snaps than every Lion but Alex Anzalone this season.
Okwara referred questions about any setbacks he encountered to Lions coach Dan Campbell, but said his leg felt “great” after two practices and vowed to play in games this season.
“Oh, I’m going to play,” he said. “I’m going to play. It’s just a matter of time.”
The Lions have 21 days to activate Okwara to their 53-man roster, and likely won’t entertain that possibility until their Dec. 4 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
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Okwara had a career-high 10 sacks in his last full season in 2020, and one in four games last year.
“I don’t know when he’s going to be back, but I do know it’s good to see him out at practice yesterday,” Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said. “I mean, he’s going to be a guy that’s going to give us pass rush also. We know that from his past, and the thing is we haven’t had a chance to really get a chance to utilize that, so I’m looking forward to him getting back so we can utilize that.”
Big Ben
Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson made an NFL.com list published Thursday of 22 young coaches to watch in the next hiring cycle, despite the Lions’ 3-6 record.
The Lions rank sixth in total offense, eighth in passing offense and ninth in points scored, though Johnson said he has not been pleased with how his unit has performed in recent weeks.
“I don’t know if we’ve been playing the caliber of football that we really expect from ourselves right now, to be honest with you,” Johnson said. “Statistically, you can say what you want, but I do think we are finding a way to stay in these games and these guys are fighting hard together. And it doesn’t matter who we have out there.”
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The Lions have played shorthanded at receiver most of the season, though they could get Josh Reynolds and DJ Chark back from injuries this week. Reynolds returned to practice Thursday after missing the past two games with a back injury, and Chark practiced for the second straight day as part of his 21-day practice window on injured reserve.
Running back D’Andre Swift also has missed significant time with injuries this fall.
Johnson, 36, said he has not had time to reflect on the job he’s done in his first season as coordinator, though he said “there’s only been one week so far this year that I’ve been disappointed with too many of my play calls.”
“It was actually two weeks ago,” he said of the Lions’ 15-9 win over the Green Bay Packers. “I wasn’t very happy. I mean, it started with the first drive. That fourth-and-1 call wasn’t very good by me, and I had a couple in that game that weren’t very good calls. So, learn from it and move on.”
Asked what he learned about his play calling that day, Johnson said, “I know exactly what happened, and I just know it’s not going to happen again, I’ll leave it at that.”
Injury update
Frank Ragnow (foot), Josh Pacshal (knee) and Trinity Benson (knee) did not practice Thursday for the second straight day. Ragnow has been managing a turf toe-type injury most of the season and wore a walking boot after Sunday’s win over the Bears, something Campbell said Ragnow has done for precautionary reasons at various times this season.
“He’s telling me he’s going (to play),” Lions offensive line coach Hank Fraley said. “We’ll see though. We’ll see about it hopefully by the end of the week and if he’s not going it’s always that next-man mentality in our room.”
Running back Jamaal Williams was a full participant in practice Thursday after missing Wednesday with an illness, while Reynolds, DeShon Elliott (concussion protocol) and Charles Harris (groin) were limited. Harris was added to the report Thursday.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.