The Detroit Lions knew they were going to be without starters Ziggy Ansah (shoulder) and T.J. Lang (concussion) for today's crucial NFC North matchup with the Green Bay Packers. The team also ruled out tight end Michael Roberts Friday due to a knee injury he suffered between Weeks 2 and 3.
Detroit listed seven other players, mostly starters, as questionable on Friday's injury report. The good news is that most of those players are active: Defensive back Quandre Diggs (hand), defensive lineman Da'Shawn Hand (ankle), wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. (ankle), cornerback Nevin Lawson (illness) and defensive back Tracy Walker (ankle).
Diggs was a limited participant in practice all week after injuring his left hand in last week's loss to Dallas. He wore a protective cast over the hand at practice all week and could play with it today.
Jones and Hand suffered ankle injuries during the course of the week, but are both good to go. Jones has been an important part of Detroit's terrific trio at receiver alongside Golden Tate and Kenny Golladay. All three of those players have at least 50 receiving yards in every game this year.
Hand has arguably been Detroit's most consistent performer upfront. He's the top graded rookie interior defensive lineman by Pro Football Focus through four games.
Two players on the questionable list coming in, linebacker Eli Harold (not injury related) and safety Tavon Wilson (back), aren't able to play and are inactive.
Harold missed practice all week with a non-injury situation. He welcomed the birth of his child. Wilson injured his back last week in Dallas and was limited all week in practice. He was out on the field before the game testing it out, but won't play.
Joining Ansah, Lang, Roberts, Wilson and Harold on Detroit's inactive list are: Wide receiver Brandon Powell and tackle Andrew Donnal.
That means running back Ameer Abdullah is active and will make his regular-season debut today. The Lions have all four of their running backs active today.
