Dan Campbell had a press conference today after the Detroit Lions win over the New York Jets. He offered vague updates on some injured players, which I’ll analyze before getting to the Week 3 snap counts.
🔴Bad news or high concern
🟡Uncertain or moderately concerning
🟢Good news or low concern
🟡 Cade Mays, C - Wrist fracture
It would be a tall order for him [to return] this week.
That was always the goal. Can we get him back after the bye? I don’t want to put a timetable just yet on it.
Mays isn’t even eligible to return to practice or play this week, since he needs to miss four games while on IR. He can open his 21-day practice window after the Week 4 Panthers game on Sunday, with his first eligible game being on Week 5 vs the Cardinals.
Campbell’s comments suggest the target return-to-play (RTP) is Week 7 vs the Packers, after the Week 6 bye. If so, then Mays would likely open his 21-day practice window after the Panthers game to maximize his window. Last year, the median RTP after the window opened was 16 days, as seen in my 2025 IR/PUP/NFI summary…
The best-case scenario of playing in Week 5 appears to be out, but if Mays can get back for Week 7, that would be a pretty good outcome.
🔴 Thomas Harper, S - Ankle
I don’t know with the Harper deal. We’ll see. I just know he won’t be here for 4 weeks or whatever.
Campbell appeared unusually dismissive and frustrated in talking about Harper’s health. This increases my concern that the ankle is a recurrent issue related to the injury he sustained in preseason. Maybe the injury is just not responding as expected.
This situation gives me flashbacks to the Ifeatu Melifonwu “ankle” injury in 2024 which was more likely actually an Achilles problem. Melifonwu had a delayed placement on IR because the injury wasn’t responding as expected, and he ended up missing the first 15 games of that season. Could Harper’s injury actually be an Achilles as well?
🟢 Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR - Unknown injury
He just had a little something, I don’t think it’s a huge thing.
I think we’ll be OK there.
I didn’t see any injury issue with St. Brown during my initial watch of the game. I scanned through all his plays again and nothing remarkable jumped out. He didn’t miss any big gaps in the game.
Appreciate Jeff Wierenga’s input here. Gibbs’ first TD came at 11:00 of the 3rd quarter. On St. Brown’s touchdown grab late in the 2nd quarter, his right ankle slightly everted when it landed hard.
If this turns out to be an ankle, this play could be it. There were other plays that could be the culprit for an ankle injury, as noted by another reader. On this play below, the right ankle could have been rolled up on, but the video was obscured…
If it turns out to be a different body part, I’ll review the film again. If anybody has any tips on St. Brown or any other player, please let me know anytime.
As seen below, St. Brown’s snap count dipped slightly. We’ll see if the initial injury report on Wednesday sheds light on the injured body part. Last season, he had offseason knee cleanup surgery, as well as a hand or wrist issue during the season.
🟢 Ennis Rakestraw, CB
He was able to get a full training camp for the most part. He had an ankle right there at the end of training camp.
That was promising yesterday. He was strong at the catch point.
In mid-August, Rakestraw injured his ankle in training camp practice and then tweaked the left ankle here in the final preseason game…
The injury is consistent with a mild low ankle sprain, which has no concerns for residuals. Rakestraw looked great in the Jets game after being inactive the first two weeks.
Lions Bring Back Miles Kitselman
Miles Kitselman, a UDFA rookie TE, suffered an unspecified leg injury on August 2 and was placed on IR, before being waived with an injury settlement. He was signed back to the practice squad today. This is an example of how an injury settlement allows a player to return to the team, even after being put on IR. No IR-return slot needed to be used here.
Kitselman has been updated on my Lions IR/PUP/NFI Tracker.
Detroit Lions Week 3 Snap Counts
Offense
🟢The notable numbers here (besides Skyler Gill-Howard’s 1 offensive snap) are the more balanced ratio between Jahmyr Gibbs (69%) and Sione Vaki (31%). In Weeks 1 and 2, Gibbs had 74% and 83%. Just as important, Vaki got more carries in Week 3 with 6, compared to Gibbs’ 20.
Vaki looked excellent in pass protection all game, much better than Gibbs. Vaki has definitely earned more playing time going forward…
🟢Blake Miller (knee) and Christian Mahogany (knee/hip) played 100% of snaps and looked very good after missing last game with injury.
🟢Jackson Meeks had only a single offensive snap coming into this game, but bumped up to 10 snaps and collected his first NFL reception.
🟡Amon-Ra St. Brown had a dip to 74%. In the first two weeks, he was at 90% and 95%. A minor injury is the reason, as noted above. He played until the end of the game, which is reassuring.
Defense
🟢Skyler Gill-Howard was unlisted with 33 snaps (50%). Maybe whoever compiled this got confused by SGH’s single offensive snap. He picked up half a sack.
🟢Christian Izien played great with a massive jump in snap counts (97%) in his second game back. This was in large part due to the IR-placements of Avonte Maddox and Thomas Harper, but Izien may have earned a starting role regardless.
🟢Ennis Rakestraw got a healthy (literally and figuratively) 35% of snaps in his first action of the season. He was sticky on Garrett Wilson all night and made multiple plays - see my Lions vs Jets Postgame Injury Report for his highlight videos.
🟢Alim McNeill saw his snaps drop to a much more reasonable 73% (vs 92% and 89% in the first two weeks). His production dramatically increased to 7 pressures and 1 sack. Fewer snaps can result in higher production.
🔴Aidan Hutchinson was on the field almost the whole game with 97% of snaps and picked up half a sack. This was a disappointing reversion after 83% and 85% in the first two games. I think he should be around 80% or less, as I analyzed in my preseason Hutchinson Snap Count Analysis.
🔴Derrick Moore only got 14% of snaps, which is a disappointing drop for this 2nd-round rookie. He got 20% and 23% in the first two games.
🟢Trevor Nowaske got the start and saw a huge jump in snaps to 50%. He had 9% and 7% in the first two games. He proved his worth by having a nice game and should continue to have a big role moving forward.
🟡Jimmy Rolder was active for the first time this year, but got zero defensive snaps. The linebacker room is very healthy in front of him, and he’s just a 4th-round rookie, so there is no concern here. Hopefully, we see him gradually work his way into the defensive lineup as the season progresses.
🟡Keith Abney was active, but got zero defensive snaps. This 5th-round rookie got 28% of snaps in Week 1, but hasn’t been seen on defense since.