It appears that the Lions first round draft pick Nick Fairly will miss the season opener next Sunday when the Lions take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, the DT taken 13th overall out of Auburn has not practiced with the team since having surgery on his foot in early August. He did have the walking boot removed but Lions head coach Jim Schwartz said that he (Fairley) and OT Jason Fox are “still working their way back”.
“Both guys still have a little longer way to go,” Schwartz said. “Out of the boot, but not out of the woods. They still have a lot to do, but they’re doing more and more every day.”
Like rookie Nick Fairley, Jason Fox also suffered a foot injury during camp and missed all four preseason games.
Overall this shouldn’t be too concerning for Lions fans given that neither one of these players would be starting either line however you never want to see young players miss a significant amount of time.
Alphonso Smith returns to practice
CB Alphonso Smith returned to practice Monday after suffering a broken foot during offseason workouts.
Despite his return, Schwartz says that Smith is still unlikely to play Sunday against Tampa Bay.
“He’s not game-ready yet,” Schwartz said. “It’s still going to be a while for him, but it’s going to be sooner than six weeks, so we wanted to get him in the swing. Took some individual, took most of 7-on-7, took a few reps in team, but he’s still got a ways to go to get back in the swing of things.”
Schwartz also didn’t want to elaborate on the injury to offensive tackle Johnny Culbreath who was placed on the injured reserve list. The only insight Schwartz gave was that he had a “medical issue” after leaving practice last Monday with medical personnel.
Source: Detroit Free Press
