The Lions placed veteran linebacker Damone Clark on injured reserve on Tuesday, the team announced.
Clark had an undisclosed injury early in training camp that will keep him out for the season.
The Lions signed Clark as depth at the position behind Derrick Barnes and Malcolm Rodriguez, but Clark’s injury prompted the team to sign veteran Devin White.
In a corresponding move, the Lions signed center Gus Hartwig.
Hartwig went undrafted in 2025, signing with the Jets. He spent his rookie season on injured reserve with a leg injury. The Jets waived him after the offseason program.
Center Cade Mays is out with a wrist injury and backup Michael Niese injured his leg in Saturday’s preseason game.
The Lions might be without safety Thomas Harper in the preseason finale against the Colts as he deals with an ankle injury.
Lions Clips
The Lions got one of their key offensive players back on the field on Tuesday.
Via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, tight end Sam LaPorta returned to practice after missing less than a week with a hip injury.
Head coach Dan Campbell had said that he wasn’t sure if LaPorta’s injury would linger into the regular season. But LaPorta took part in individual and team drills on Tuesday.
LaPorta caught 40 passes for 489 yards with three touchdowns in 2025. He missed much of the season due to a back injury.
Additionally, guard Ben Bartch returned to practice after missing last week and linebacker Trevor Nowaske exited practice early with an apparent knee injury.
The Lions are taking a look at a veteran running back.
Kareem Hunt visited with Detroit on Tuesday, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Hunt, 31, spent the last two seasons back with the Chiefs after five seasons with the Browns. He appeared in all 17 games for Kansas City last year, recording 611 yards with eight touchdowns, averaging 3.7 yards per carry. He also caught 18 passes for 143 yards with a TD.
Lions backup running back Isiah Pacheco has been sidelined by an MCL sprain, but head coach Dan Campbell noted earlier this month that Pacheco was expected to be ready by Week 1.
A third-round pick in 2017, Hunt has rushed for 5,775 yards with 55 touchdowns in his 121 career games. He’s also caught 267 passes for 2,209 yards with 18 TDs.
The Colts have revealed their quarterback plans for their final preseason game.
Anthony Richardson will start against the Lions and head coach Shane Steichen said that the plan is for him to play the first quarter of the game. Riley Leonard, who is Richardson’s competition for the backup job, will take the second quarter with Easton Stick playing the rest of the game.
The setup means that Richardson will be on the field with many Colts starters. Steichen said the plan is for the starters — running back Jonathan Taylor won’t be part of the group — to play 8-12 plays before returning to the bench.
Steichen did not say that the pecking order for Saturday will be the same as the depth chart for the regular season, but it would seem to open the door to Richardson securing the No. 2 spot behind Daniel Jones with a strong outing.
The NFL’s second wave of “Rivalries” uniforms were unveiled on Tuesday.
All the teams from the NFC North and AFC South will wear the uniforms at some point during the 2026 season for a home game against a divisional opponent. They can be worn for games during the 2027 and 2028 seasons as well.
The first game to feature the new threads will come in Week 3 when the Colts don their new “Anvil Strike” look against the Texans. The Packers will debut their alternates in Week 5 against the Bears while Week 8 will see both the Jaguars and Lions throw on the new uniforms.
Week 10 will bring the Titans into the fold and the Texans will sport their alternate look when the Colts visit in Week 11. The Vikings will debut their rivalry outfits against the Lions in Week 15 and the Bears will be the last team to join the fun when they host Green Bay in Week 16.
The Lions placed a couple of veterans on injured reserve Monday.
Running back Raheem Blackshear and wide receiver Cedrick Wilson both landed on the list. They will not be eligible to play this season unless they are released with injury settlements at some point in the future.
Blackshear signed with the team earlier this month and ran 16 times for 62 yards in the team’s two preseason games. He appeared in 41 games for the Panthers between 2022 and 2024.
Wilson had three catches for 24 yards in his preseason appearances. He’s also played for the Dolphins, Saints and Cowboys.
The Lions filled the open roster spots by signing defensive back Jason Taylor and running back Roydell Williams.
Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels is set for his first action of the preseason.
The team released a list of 15 inactive players for Saturday’s game against the Lions and Daniels is not on it. Commanders head coach Dan Quinn said earlier this week that a good amount of the team’s starters would see action in the team’s second game of the preseason, but that he was unsure if Daniels would be among them.
Wide receiver Stefon Diggs is also set to see his first game action since signing with the Commanders. Terry McLaurin also avoided the inactive list, so it looks like the Commanders will get their first look at their top receiver tandem in action.
If that is the case, they will not be joined by the team’s top running backs. Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Rachaad White, and Jeremy McNichols are all inactive, which leaves sixth-round pick Kaytron Allen as the top back who is expected to play.
Lions cornerback Ennis Rakestraw left practice after a non-contact injury to his leg on Thursday, but it does not sound like he is looking at an extended absence from the lineup.
The team’s radio play-by-play announcer Dan Miller reports that Rakestraw suffered an ankle injury and that it is not considered to be a serious issue. The Lions host the Commanders in a preseason game on Saturday and the injury is believed to be minor enough that Rakestraw’s status for that game is still to be determined.
A minor injury would be a good outcome for any player, but it’s a particularly good one for Rakestraw. The 2024 second-round pick has only played in eight games because of several injuries over the last two years.
Once he’s cleared to return to the field, Rakestraw will vie for time in a cornerback group that also includes Rock Ya-Sin, D.J. Reed, Roger McCreary, Khalil Dorsey, and fifth-round pick Keith Abney.
The NFL has cracked down on fighting at joint practices. Sort of.
For the second time in two years, the NFL has fined teams for fighting at joint practices. The players involved weren’t fined.
The league, in August 2024, fined the Giants and Lions $200,000 each for fighting during joint practices. And while the price tag for the Saints and Cowboys increased the punishment by 150 percent — to $500,000 each — the NFL still isn’t fining the players who threw punches and/or otherwise were involved in the extracurricular violence.
The ultimate offense happened four years ago, when Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald swung helmets at a joint practice with the Bengals. At the time, we explained that the league has a longstanding practice of clubs being responsible for overseeing the conduct of players at practice, including joint practices.
While the teams have the authority to fine players, the league doesn’t do it. If the league ever began issuing the kind of discipline for practice fights that the league issues for fights during games, the fights would end.
Maybe it’s a CBA issue. Maybe the league simply doesn’t want to ask the NFL Players Association for the power to issue those fines.
Of course, the NFLPA should want to create mechanisms for protecting players from injuries inflicted during those fights. But that’s not how collective bargaining works. If one side wants to change the status quo, the other side will want something in return — even if there’s a mutual benefit arising from the request that was made.
Lions cornerback Ennis Rakestraw has battled injuries for most of his time in the NFL and he suffered another one on Thursday.
Rakestraw left practice early and the team announced that he is being evaluated for a lower leg injury. Reporters at the session noted that Rakestraw suffered a non-contact injury and that he was able to leave the field under his own power.
Rakestraw was a second-round pick in 2024, but only played eight games as a rookie due to hamstring and core muscle injuries. He missed all of the 2025 season after suffering a preseason shoulder injury.
The Lions also took Terrion Arnold in the first round of the 2024 draft. Arnold was released this offseason, so it is fair to say that their plans to fill out the cornerback spot have not gone as hoped.
