MIAMI GARDENS, Fla – Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown suffered a rib injury last week in the Detroit Lions' win over Minnesota that made him a limited participant in practice all week. He was listed as questionable to play in Miami against the Dolphins, but he is active today.
St. Brown's 53 receptions are fifth-most in the NFL and his 571 receiving yards and five touchdowns are both Top 10 among NFL pass catchers.
Also active today is running back Sione Vaki, who showed up on the practice report Friday with an ankle injury and was also listed as questionable. Vaki is coming off career-highs in carries (11) and rushing yards (65) in last week's win over the Vikings.
The third player on Detroit's injury report listed as questionable was running back and kickoff returner Jacob Saylors (neck). He was limited in practice all week and will not play. He's inactive. The Lions activated running back Jabari Small from the practice squad Saturday to fill in.
Detroit already ruled out center Cade Mays (ankle), cornerback D.J. Reed (hip) and edge rusher DJ Wonnum (concussion) on Friday.
Veteran Juice Scruggs will start at center for Mays. It will be Scruggs' sixth start of the season as he began the year as the Lions' starting center when Mays rehabbed a wrist injury suffered in training camp. Scruggs has played good football all season.
Detroit has several options to replace Reed, who has been playing well over the last month, allowing just 41 receiving yards in his coverage over the Lions' three-game win streak.
"As far as the good news is, man, we have got a pretty steady room that is improving of defensive backs," Lions head coach Dan Campbell said Friday after announcing Reed wasn't likely to play today. "Chuck (Clark) and (Brian Branch) and (Keith) Abney (II) and (Ennis) Rakestraw (Jr.) is getting better. Rock (Ya-Sin) looks healthy and is playing good football. (Roger) McCreary.
"So, I just feel like these guys are starting to play pretty good football for us. And (Khalil) Dorsey, man, Dorsey's contributing in a big way. So, I like where we're at and it's really a pretty – depth-wise, it's a pretty strong room. So yeah, I don't like the thought of not having Reed, but at the same time, I'm encouraged. I think we'll be OK here."
Detroit also signed defensive back Nick Whiteside from the practice squad to the active roster to give them more depth in the secondary.
Rookie edge rusher Derrick Moore will likely see an uptick in snaps with Wonnum inactive. Tyler Lacy and Eric O'Neill will also try to fill the void. The team activated edge rusher Anthony Lucas from the practice squad.
Joining Reed, Mays, Wonnum and Saylors on Detroit's inactive list today in Miami are tight end Jackson Meeks, defensive lineman Mekhi Wingo and edge rusher Ahmed Hassanein.
