The Patriots ruled three players out for Sunday’s game against the Lions in Munich on Wednesday, but there was some encouraging news about wide receiver A.J. Brown.
Brown was a limited participant in practice after missing the last two games with a knee injury. Brown was also listed as out on the team’s last five practice reports.
Guard Ben Brown (knee), cornerback Carlton Davis (knee), and running back TreVeyon Henderson (illness) were the three players ruled out. Tight end Cameron Latu (back), guard Walter Rouse (concussion), safety Brenden Schooler (hamstring), and running back Rhamondre Stevenson (knee) were also out of practice for New England.
Safety Kevin Byard (chest), fullback Reggie Gilliam (knee), tight end Hunter Henry (foot), right tackle Morgan Moses (foot), guard Greg Van Roten (hamstring), and cornerback Charles Woods (hamstring) joined Brown as limited participants. Quarterback Drake Maye (right shoulder) was a full participant.
Lions Clips
Christian Mahogany will return as the Lions’ starting left guard on Sunday, a week after his benching for a violation of team rules.
Mahogany apologized to the team Wednesday morning and was back with the first-team offense in the afternoon.
Coach Dan Campbell has said only that Mahogany broke a team rule “multiple times,” but did not elaborate. Mahogany wouldn’t either when he spoke Wednesday.
“I’m not going to [say what the rule was] either. I’m not going to disobey him,” Mahogany said, via Will Burchfield of 97.1 The Ticket. “It sucks what happened, but I have to grow up, and I have to stop breaking team rules. It is what it is. I let my teammates down. I let my organization down, and it won’t ever happen again.”
Campbell’s four team rules are: Don’t be late; keep your weight in check; don’t disrespect your teammates, and don’t disrespect the game. Mahogany first landed in trouble in training camp when he was briefly placed on the non-football injury list.
His absence in Sunday’s win over the Dolphins was noticeable as his replacement, Miles Frazier, had a rough afternoon.
“You just gotta eat it on the chin,” Mahogany said of his benching. “That’s who I am. I’m not a person that’s gonna sulk. It sucked not being out there, because I let my teammates down. I don’t want to do that. I did, and that’s on me.”
Quarterback Jared Goff landed on the Lions’ first injury report of the week.
Goff was listed as a limited participant in practice. A chest injury is given as the reason for Goff’s presence on the report.
There’s been no indication of Goff being at risk of missing Sunday’s game against the Patriots in Germany and the next two days should bring more information about his condition heading into Week 10.
Center Cade Mays (ankle), cornerback D.J. Reed (hip), and running back Sione Vaki (ankle) did not practice. Mays and Reed were both inactive in last Sunday’s win over the Dolphins.
Safety Brian Branch (hip), safety Kerby Joseph (knee), and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (rib) were limited participants. Running back Jacob Saylors (neck, hamstring) and defensive end DJ Wonnum (concussion) were full participants.
For the first time since 2024, Jake Bates is the NFC special teams player of the week.
Bates was an essential part of Detroit’s 19-9 victory over Miami on Sunday, hitting all four of his field goals and his only extra point attempt in the contest.
Bates’ field goals were from 28, 40, 33, and 43 yards.
Bates previously won special teams player of the week for his Week 7 and his Week 10 performance in 2024. He is now the third Lions kicker ro earn three special teams player of the week awards, joining Jason Hanson and Matt Prater.
Lions guard Christian Mahogany had played every snap for five consecutive games until Sunday in Miami, when Mahogany didn’t play at all and backup Miles Frazier took his place. Lions coach Dan Campbell said his decision was for one reason only: Mahogany wasn’t following team rules, and Frazier was.
Campbell didn’t get into specifics about which rules Mahogany violated, but he said that even though the offensive line was struggling without Mahogany early in Sunday’s win over the Dolphins, he never wavered in his belief that a player who hasn’t been meeting expectations isn’t going to play.
“Frazier earned that opportunity, and I thought he got better as the game went on, and you could say that about the whole unit — we were a little shaky early,” Campbell said on 97.1 The Ticket.
Campbell said he won’t talk publicly about what Mahogany did to earn the benching, but he did say Mahogany had broken a team rule more than once.
“That’s really between us,” Campbell said. “That’s why I have team rules, that’s why we have team rules and we’ve all got to abide by them, and if it’s broken multiple times, then you do something about it. We’re in good standing and like I said, the ball’s in his court. It’ll be good.”
Campbell said Mahogany respects his decision, and that the whole team needs to understand that the head coach is going to hold every player to a high standard.
“Listen, we’re good. He knows. We’re all good. He’ll be fine,” Campbell said. “Look, if you say you’re going to do something, you better hold up to it or otherwise you’re going to lose the respect of people around you. Because if I’m sitting in that seat and I say one thing and then I don’t do it, I’ll immediately lose respect for that person. So we stick by what we say we’re going to do here.”
Detroit is bringing in some secondary help.
The Jets are trading safety Andre Cisco to the Lions in exchange for a 2028 sixth-round pick, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.
Cisco, 26, is in the final season of his contract.
Cisco has appeared in nine games with four starts this year, recording 23 total tackles with two tackles for loss, a sack, a forced fumble, and a pass defensed.
A third-round pick in the 2021 draft, Cisco played his first four seasons with the Jaguars.
In 80 career games with 59 starts, he’s tallied eight interceptions, 26 passes defensed, 2.5 sacks, and six tackles for loss.
With the trade, Cisco is now in line to potentially play 18 games this season. The Lions had their bye in Week 6 and the Jets are not slated to have theirs until Week 13.
The Patriots expect to be without guard Ben Brown when they face the Lions in Germany in Week 10.
Brown injured his knee during Sunday’s 45-27 loss to the Packers and head coach Mike Vrabel said at a Monday press conference that he doesn’t think Brown will be in the lineup for that game. Brown started at left guard and he was replaced by Walter Rouse.
The Patriots have been hit hard by injuries at guard. Mike Onwenu and Alijah Vera-Tucker are both on injured reserve, which has pushed Matt Pryor into the starting lineup.
Vrabel also said that running back Rhamondre Stevenson is getting an MRI on his knee and that the team does not have an update on his condition at this point. TreVeyon Henderson is out as he looks for answers to a neurological condition, which leaves Corey Kiner and Lan Larison as the team’s healthy backs.
Wide receiver A.J. Brown missed his second straight game with a knee injury and Vrabel said the team is unsure if he’ll be able to play in Munich.
The Lions’ defense was playing with heavy hearts today in Miami, knowing that their leader Jack Campbell is still in a Detroit hospital after suffering a spinal injury a week ago. But the Lions heeded the call from head coach Dan Campbell to play in a way that would honor Jack Campbell.
On a day when Detroit’s offense was not at its best, the defense stepped up, holding Malik Willis & Co. in check in a 19-9 win.
Derrick Moore sacked Willis twice, Alim McNeil sacked him once, and Aidan Hutchinson forced the Dolphins to hold him multiple times as Willis was under pressure all day. Willis finished 13-for-25 for 128 yards, with no touchdowns and one interception, and he managed only seven rushing yards.
Lions quarterback Jared Goff could manage only 170 yards on 17-for-25 passing, but that was enough on a day when the Lions’ defense played so well.
Both punters completed passes for first downs on fake punts, and they were two of the best passes of the game on a day when neither Willis nor Goff played well.
The win improves the Lions’ record to 6-2, and helps them keep pace in the very competitive NFC North. The Dolphins fall to 1-7 and keep pace in their quest for the first overall pick in the 2027 NFL draft.
Lions coach Dan Campbell loves to go for it on fourth down, and it’s paying off today.
The Lions finally scored the first touchdown of today’s game when Jahmyr Gibbs ran for eight yards to the end zone on fourth-and-1, giving the Lions a 16-6 lead.
The Lions are now 3-for-3 on fourth downs today, including a Jared Goff pass to Isaac TeSlaa, and a fake punt on which punter Jack Fox threw for a first down.
Fourth downs are about the only thing that have gone right for the Lions’ offense on a day when they’ve struggled with the Dolphins’ pass rush. But the Lions’ defense has largely held the Dolphins’ offense in check.
The Dolphins haven’t gone for it on fourth down yet today, but they may need to as they trail by two scores heading into the fourth quarter.
Lions linebacker Jack Campbell remains hospitalized, one week after suffering a neck injury during a Week 8 win over the Vikings. He also remains intent on playing football again.
Via Melanie Collins of CBS, who is part of the crew working the Lions-Dolphins game in Miami, Campbell continues to improve. And he had a message for coach Dan Campbell, who visited Jack Campbell this week in the hospital.
Dan Campbell told CBS that Jack Campbell is “determined” to return. The head coach also shared with CBS the message from Jack Campbell to the team: “Just make sure the house is taken care of, until I can get back.”
Jack Campbell announced on Wednesday that he has full movement in his legs, and that he’s making progress as to movement in his upper body.
There has been no reporting or announcement regarding his timetable for playing again. Obviously, Jack Campbell plans to get there.
