Detroit Lions injury report: Door open for Amon-Ra St. Brown to play

Amon-Ra St. Brown’s availability for the Detroit Lions’ pivotal showdown Thursday night with the Dallas Cowboys remains uncertain.

But he wasn’t ruled out Wednesday, when the team released its injury report.

St. Brown, an All-Pro receiver, is listed as questionable despite not practicing this week as he continues his recovery from a low ankle sprain suffered in the first quarter of the Lions’ 31-24 Thanksgiving Day loss to Green Bay.

St. Brown told reporters Tuesday he plans to take his availability to gametime before deciding whether to play and wants to see how his injury impacts his ability to cut, change directions and make "the little movements that you don't even think about when you're out there."

"I'm not sure right now, if I'm being honest," St. Brown said when asked how optimistic he is he'll play against the Cowboys. "It’s still up in the air. I'm going to try to be out there for the guys, for my teammates. But I couldn't answer that question right now."

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St. Brown leads the Lions with 75 catches and 884 receiving yards. He has also scored nine touchdowns.

His presence Thursday would help a depleted offense. Receiver Kalif Raymond, also dealing with an ankle injury, will miss his second straight game. So will tight end Brock Wright, who hurt his trachea in a Nov. 23 win over the New York Giants.

The missing pieces changed the complexion of Detroit’s passing attack last Thursday, as quarterback Jared Goff relied heavily on Jameson Williams while intermittently distributing the ball to a bunch of backups, including former practice squad receiver Tom Kennedy, rookie wideout Isaac TeSlaa and a pair of tight ends – Ross Dwelley and Anthony Firkser – who weren’t even on the roster when the season began.

“When you lose a guy like Saint, it’s tough. There’s so many things that he brings to our offense,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said last week. “Everybody knows the production and the versatility he has. Also, all of the dirty work he does in the run game and all of the little things. The things of where you line up, to where you go, to who you block if it’s this look, to now if they go here, you need to slide back to do this. He’s so freakin’ smart, man. And he’s tough. There’s a million jobs he does, and he does them at a high level. It does, it hurts when you lose him.”

But the door is now open for St. Brown to return.

While St. Brown could suit up Thursday, safety Kerby Joseph has been ruled out for a seventh straight game, as he continues to deal with the lingering effects of a bone bruise aggravated in an Oct. 12 loss to Kansas City.

Tight end Shane Zylstra is also out. Zylstra, on injured reserve since a Week 2 victory over Chicago, returned to the field as a limited participant Monday after the Lions opened his 21-day evaluation window. However, he didn’t practice Tuesday.

Among the players listed as questionable are guard Kayode Awosika (foot), safety Brian Branch (toe/ankle), center Graham Glasgow (knee), running back Sione Vaki (thumb) and offensive tackles Taylor Decker (shoulder) and Penei Sewell (shoulder).

Cornerback Terrion Arnold was placed on injured reserve earlier this week, and will reportedly undergo season-ending shoulder surgery.

Contact Rainer Sabin at [email protected]. Follow him @RainerSabin on X.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions injury report: Door open for Amon-Ra St. Brown to play