Training Camp

When the Lions announced on Aug. 8 that safety Louis Delmas had undergone a procedure on his knee, it seemed unlikely at the time he’d play a down in the preseason.

Now two weeks later, that’s looking more like a certainty.

“Well we’re closing in on that for sure,” head coach Jim Schwartz said after practice Monday when asked if the team was preparing to get Delmas back in the regular season instead of the preseason.

“He’s not to the point that he’s even on a progression right now. He’s week-to-week, he’s not day-to-day.”

Delmas watched practice Monday from an observation deck attached to the Lions training facility, the same spot he’s watched practiced for much of the last two weeks. Dr. James Andrews, one of the world's most renowned sports surgeons, performed surgery on Delmas’ left knee Aug. 7 after he had developed soreness, which wasn’t subsiding.

Week-to-week is a fairly vague timeframe, but the hope for the Lions is that they’ll have their quarterback of the secondary back in time for the regular-season opener against the Rams Sept. 9. That’s nearly three weeks from today.

“When we did that back in early camp the idea was, ‘let’s try to do it as quick as we can so that we give us enough time before the opener,’” Schwartz said.

Last season, Delmas missed the last five games of the regular season after having a procedure done on his right knee before the Raiders game Week 15. Delmas hurt the knee a few weeks prior against the Packers on Thanksgiving. He returned for the team’s playoff loss to the Saints, but wasn’t 100-percent.

In the five games Delmas missed last year, the defense gave up an average of 122 more yards per game, while opponents averaged 128 more passing yards and scored an average of 5.6 more points per game.

Veteran safety John Wendling has been starting -- and playing well – in place of Delmas’ in training camp, but it’ll be a big loss for this secondary if Delmas’ absence lingers into the season.