Detroit Lions guard Kevin Zeitler (71) gets set on the line during an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas, Sunday,
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell was optimistic that he will have starting cornerback Carlton Davis for Sunday’s division matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, but a late-week injury to a starting offensive lineman might require some shifting around in the trenches.
Campbell said that Davis, who has missed each of the week’s first two practices due to a groin injury, will practice on Friday and is “trending in the right direction” for Sunday’s game.
“It’s going to be good to get him moving around out there,” Campbell said.
Starting right guard Kevin Zeitler, however, picked up a hip injury in Thursday’s practice, according to Campbell, and is trending in the wrong direction. Zeitler was initially said to have a groin injury on Thursday’s practice report.
Campbell wasn’t ready to rule out Zeitler quite yet, but he wasn’t optimistic about his status for Sunday.
“If you’re asking me, I think it’s going to be hard to say he’s playing,” Campbell said. “I don’t want to say he’s out right now. I’m not there yet.”
If Zeitler can’t go, Campbell said it’ll be Kayode Awosika stepping up on the interior. It’s possible that left guard Graham Glasgow will cover Zeitler’s position at right guard and Awosika will slide in at left guard. Glasgow was the starter at right guard last season, and Awosika took 304 snaps at left guard.
Still, Awosika has played several games at right guard in his career, so it’s also possible that the Lions plug Awosika into Zeitler’s spot to disrupt Glasgow’s week as little as possible.
The news on Davis is a big development given the caliber of receivers — namely former Offensive Player of the Year Justin Jefferson — awaiting Detroit on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
Leave a Reply