ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) – The bye week couldn’t have come at a better time for the Detroit Lions. If the Lions hadn’t had Sunday off, they might not have been able to field a team.
“We had between 16 and 19 players who couldn’t practice at times last week, and that number wouldn’t have been much lower on Sunday,” Lions coach Jim Schwartz said after Tuesday’s practice. “We would have had some trouble.”
Instead, the Lions (1-5) got a chance to heal over the last week, significantly shrinking the injured list.
“Right now, with the exception of Shaun Hill and Zack Follett, every guy on the team is in the mix for Sunday,” Schwartz said. “There might be a couple guys who can’t go against the Redskins, but they are at least back in the mix.”
Most important, the Lions are expected to have starting quarterback Matthew Stafford back for Sunday’s game against Washington. Stafford hasn’t played since sustaining a shoulder injury in Detroit’s season-opening loss in Chicago.
“Matt practiced last week, so he’s had plenty of time to get his timing back,” receiver Calvin Johnson said. “Today, everything was back on the same page. I don’t think the ball ever hit the ground during practice – he was hitting everyone.”
Stafford’s return is more important after Hill sustained a broken arm in Detroit’s loss to the New York Giants. With Stafford still sidelined, the Lions finished that game with Drew Stanton as their only healthy quarterback.
“By getting to practice last week, Matthew has had plenty of time to get ready,” Schwartz said. “His arm strength is good and his command and accuracy are right where they were before he got hurt.”
Schwartz, though, didn’t commit to the status of a key defensive starter, middle linebacker DeAndre Levy. A series of injuries has kept him off the field.
“I know what we have with DeAndre, and my plans haven’t changed,” Schwartz said. “If this had been one injury that had been bothering since the beginning of camp, I might be concerned, but it isn’t. He had the lower-back problem, and then a groin, and now he’s got an ankle. He’ll put all of those behind him, and we’ll go forward from there.”
The Lions were a loose bunch Tuesday. Cornerback Jonathan Wade gave safety Louis Delmas some tips on dealing with the media when the hard-hitting Delmas was asked about the new emphasis on avoiding helmet-to-helmet hits.
“Tell the people with the pens and recorders that you are going to play hard and that you always try to avoiding injuring other players,” Wade told Delmas as both players and the assembled media laughed.
While he stressed that the Lions are only worried about themselves, the coach did acknowledge that he’s pleased with the lack of a dominant team in the NFC North.
“You have to keep your focus on your own games, and only worry about those, but it is nice that no one has distanced themselves from the pack yet,” Schwartz said. “Things would be tougher if one of the teams was 6-0 and winning every game by 24 points. We don’t have that.”
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