The debut of Lions rookie cornerback Jeff Okudah will have to wait at least another week.
The Lions' first-round pick (No. 3 overall) suffered a hamstring injury in practice this week that limited his availability in practice Thursday and Friday and made his status for today's regular-season opener vs. the Bears questionable. Okudah is inactive, which means the Lions are expected to start second-year cornerback Amani Oruwariye opposite veteran Desmond Trufant at the two outside cornerback spots.
The Lions will also be without two key starters on offense.
Wide receiver Kenny Golladay and right tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai have also been ruled out. Golladay was listed as doubtful on Friday's practice report after suffering a hamstring injury during Wednesday's practice and sitting out practice the rest of the week. Golladay led the Lions last season in receptions (65), yards (1,190) and touchdowns (11). Those 11 receiving touchdowns led the entire NFL.
Not having quarterback Matthew Stafford's top weapon is obviously not ideal, but the Lions do feel good about the depth at receiver with Marvin Jones Jr., Danny Amendola, Quintez Cephus, Marvin Hall and Jamal Agnew. Cephus, a fifth-round pick by the team this offseason out of Wisconsin, had a particularly strong training camp and could see an increased role today.
"I would say the one thing that we're trying to do, and really why you'll see it on the injury report a lot, is we're trying to prevent them from being long-term type of soft-tissue injuries," Lions head coach Matt Patricia said this week about the team dealing with a number of hamstring and soft tissue injuries.
"So even if we get guys that are tight, that may be on the milder side, maybe a seven-, 10-, 14-day type stuff, we're trying to prevent the four-week type of injury there."
The Lions could also look to incorporate their tight ends more into the mix, which is something Lions offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell talked about this offseason.
The team already ruled rookie tight end Hunter Bryant (hamstring) and veteran safety C.J. Moore out of today's lineup after both missed the entire week of practice.
Joining Golladay, Vaitai, Okudah, Bryant and Moore on Detroit's inactive list are: Rookie guard Logan Stenberg and running back Jonathan Williams.
