Amon-Ra St. Brown is dealing with knee and ankle injuries heading into the season finale but Detroit's veteran wide receiver plans to finish out the season on the field alongside his teammates Sunday in Chicago.
"I feel solid," St. Brown said Thursday. "I would say a little banged up but good enough to go and that's all that really matters."
St. Brown suffered an ankle injury on Thanksgiving, then dealt with knee pain coming out of the game against the Steelers. He also got banged up a little bit late in last week's game on Christmas against the Minnesota Vikings.
He sat out practice Wednesday but was back on the practice field Thursday as a limited participant and said after his return to practice, it's important he play Sunday to be out there for his teammates and coaches to try and be a factor in finishing out a disappointing season on a high note.
"Just being out there for the guys for my teammates," he said. "We're blessed to be in the position that we are to play a sport that we love. To get paid to do what we do, go out there every Sunday and play. I mean, I love this game and I want to be out there every game if I can.
"Whether we're undefeated or haven't won a game, my goal is to be out there every Sunday or Monday or whatever day we play and it's just another one for us to go out there and for me to go out there and play and hopefully get a W."
St. Brown has 106 receptions for 1,262 yards and 11 touchdowns on the season. He's one touchdown shy of tying his career high of 12 last season.
This season St. Brown surpassed Michael Thomas (510) for the most receptions by a player in his first five seasons in NFL history. St. Brown has 536 career receptions. He also became the first player in NFL history to record at least 90 receptions in each of his first five seasons.
CAMPBELL ON O-LINE
Lions head coach Dan Campbell said earlier in the week one position group he wants to see play better from Sunday to finish the season on a strong note is the offensive line.
The Lions haven't gotten the consistent performance week-in and week-out from that unit that they've been accustomed to the previous two and a half seasons and changes are expected to come with that unit this offseason.
"I need time to really sit down and think about all this," Campbell said Friday. "But what we do know is one way or another probably, change is inevitable. Now, it may not be much but there will be something that'll change."
What will Detroit do at center moving forward? Will left tackle Taylor Decker opt for retirement? Can Tate Ratledge and Christian Mahogany beat out some potential veteran competition at guard?
Detroit needs to get back to being a dominant offensive front that can not only consistently protect quarterback Jared Goff but also get back to being a dominant rushing football team.
Campbell said the latter means everything to this offense moving forward.
ROOKIE NOD
The Lions have gotten some significant rookie contributions this season, but which rookie has taken the biggest leap in development this season?
"I would say he's probably grown more than anybody has throughout the year, as far as our young guys," Campbell said of third-round pick wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa. "He's grown the most. Of course he's got ability but he's smart, he's instinctive, he's tough, he's a finisher, he's resilient.
"Every week we've been able to put more and more on him. He's serving a lot of different roles, playing a lot of different positions. But he's just continued to - he's one of those guys that broke through probably that rookie wall at some point and just kept going."
TeSlaa has been a much bigger component of the offense the second half of the season and his six touchdowns are tied for the second most in franchise history for a rookie.
TIME ON TASK
Second-year cornerback Ennis Rakestraw has had a rough start to his NFL career. After playing just 46 reps in eight games as a rookie last season, Rakestraw was placed on injured reserve last August with a shoulder injury that required surgery.
Rakestraw has been around the team and in the meeting room but he's missed a season of on-field reps, which there's no replacement for. This will be an important offseason for the former second-round pick to show he can be available and compete for playing time in Detroit's secondary in 2026.
"The good thing is he's still been able to be around it," passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach Deshea Townsend said Friday. "For him, it's going to be how can we speed up those reps when he does come back to catch him up because time and reps is the best thing you can get as a player, and he's missed a lot of those."
EXTRA POINT
Second-year tackle Giovanni Manu (knee) won't play in the season finale against Chicago Sunday, per Campbell.
"I mean, he looks a lot better than he did three weeks ago when he started, so that's a good thing," Campbell said of Manu's last three weeks on his return-to-play practice window. "He gets some individual work, some technique work, team work against our defense. So, that always helps."
