Quarterback Jared Goff is still feeling the effects of the strained oblique he suffered Sunday in Pittsburgh. Goff did not practice Wednesday.
Goff suffered the injury in the first quarter against the Steelers on an under-thrown pass to wide receiver Kalif Raymond deep down the field.
"We're taking it day-to-day and he's going to sit today and then we'll reassess tomorrow and see how he's feeling," Lions head coach Campbell said Wednesday.
Goff said he's more sore than he expected to be, and the determination on if he can play Sunday in Cleveland will come down to functionality.
"It's being able to function fully," he said Wednesday. "We'll see. It has gotten better since the game. Will it be better by Sunday? I don't know."
Tim Boyle was taking first-team reps with the offense Wednesday in place of Goff. Boyle originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Packers in 2018. He spent three seasons with the Packers and signed a one-year deal with Detroit this offseason.
Boyle is still in his 21-day IR practice window after resuming practice last week. If it's determined Goff can't go Sunday, it appears the Lions will activate Boyle and turn to him to start at quarterback, with David Blough as the backup.
"He looked good," Campbell said of how Boyle's looked in practice the last week. "Worked his way back in there. There again, it was scout team was what he was doing. But he looked good. I mean, he looked comfortable and was throwing it well. You can tell he's – the finger looks like it's good. It's recovered."
Boyle broke his thumb in Detroit's final preseason contest against Indianapolis that required surgery, and he's been on IR ever since. He completed 22-of-39 passing for 135 yards and a touchdown in three preseason appearances earlier this year.
NEW KICKER
The Lions have a new kicker after signing Riley Patterson off the New England Patriots practice squad Tuesday.
The team released Ryan Santoso from the practice squad after he missed an extra point in the third quarter and the potential game-winning field goal in overtime in Detroit's 16-16 tie in Pittsburgh last week.
"Sometimes you don't know what's going to happen until you get put in a situation like that, high stress, pressure, and so we just felt like we needed to make it and give another a guy chance," Campbell said.
"I just think it's important. That's all. Kind of hate it for him, but at the same time, that's the nature of this business. Sometimes you only get two chances and you've got to perform if that's your job description. We'll give (Patterson) a go, we like him, he's young, and we liked him coming out and see how he does."
Patterson, who must stay on the Lions' 53-man roster for at least the next three weeks, was undrafted out of Memphis and signed with the Minnesota Vikings as a rookie free agent before joining the Patriots last month. He made 15-of-22 field goals at Memphis last season and was 64-of-83 (77.1 percent) for his career with the Tigers. His career-long was from 56 yards.
The Lions also signed kicker Aldrick Rosas to their practice squad.
Kicker Austin Seibert (hip) remains on IR for at least two more games.
WILLIAMS BACK AT PRACTICE
It was good to see running back Jamaal Williams back at practice Wednesday for the Lions. He's missed the last two weeks of practice and Detroit's last two games with a thigh injury.
Before the injury, Williams had been a consistent performer in the run game for the Lions all season, averaging 4.4 yards per carry.
Williams' return to practice is even more significant with rookie running back Jermar Jefferson dealing with an ankle injury that kept him from practicing Wednesday.
D’Andre Swift had a career-high 33 carries and 130 yards against the Steelers last Sunday having to carry the load with Williams out and Jefferson leaving early with the ankle injury. While that's impressive, the Lions don't want to put that much load on just one back if they can help it.
Hopefully Williams can continue to progress through the week and get back on the field Sunday against a Browns' defense that's fifth in the NFL stopping the run, allowing on average just 94.7 yards per game.
EXTRA POINTS
- The Browns are expected to get running back Nick Chubb back from the Reserve/COVID-19 list this week, and could potentially get Kareem Hunt (calf) back as well. Cleveland has averaged 154.1 rushing yards per game this season, which are the second most in the NFL. The Lions have allowed the third most rushing yards this season (135.7 yards per game) and at least 100 yards rushing in seven of nine contests this season.
- Myles Garrett, Cleveland's talented edge rusher, leads the NFL with 13.0 sacks and 24 QB hits this season.
