The Detroit Lions will be without a number of key starters on both sides of the ball for today's pivotal Week 2 NFC North matchup with the Packers in Green Bay.
On offense, Detroit will be without Pro Bowl wide receiver Kenny Golladay for a second consecutive week. He suffered a hamstring injury in practice ahead of Detroit's Week 1 game vs. Chicago that prevented him from in playing in that contest, and it will sideline him again this week. I expect rookie Quintez Cephus to fill in for Golladay again this week. He was targeted 10 times against the Bears last week, catching three of those targets for 43 yards.
Starting right tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai has been dealing with a foot injury and will also miss his second straight game to open the season. He didn't practice all week and was questionable coming into today's contest, but will be inactive. I expect third-year tackle Tyrell Crosby to fill in at right tackle again this week.
Also missing from Detroit's offensive line is starting left guard Joe Dahl. He suffered a groin injury in practice this week and was placed on injured reserve. He has to remain on that list for at least three weeks, so he'd be eligible to return Week 6 after Detroit's Week 5 bye. The expectation is for either Kenny Wiggins or Oday Aboushi to fill in there.
Things are a little more serious on the injury front defensively today for the Lions. Already missing starting nickel cornerback Justin Coleman, who was placed on IR this week with a hamstring injury, Detroit's secondary will also be without starting outside cornerback Desmond Trufant due to a hamstring injury.
The expectation is for second-year cornerback Amani Oruwariye and rookie cornerback Jeff Okudah to see significant playing time against Packers veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The Packers' offense put up 364 passing yards with four touchdown grabs while putting up 43 points in a Week 1 win over Minnesota.
The defense will also be without starting defensive tackle Nick Williams. He was downgraded Saturday from questionable to out with a shoulder injury.
It's a long injury list this week for the Lions, who will be counting on the next men up to make an impact today and help them avoid an 0-2 start to the season.
Joining Golladay, Vaitai, Trufant and Williams on today's inactive list are: Tight end Hunter Bryant, cornerback Chris Jones and defensive end Julian Okwara. Okwara, Detroit's third-round pick in this year's draft, appears to be a healthy scratch.
