The Detroit Lions have their Week 7 injury picture mostly mapped out, and the biggest names on the report are both sitting in the questionable column for Friday’s game against the Green Bay Packers.
Safety Brian Branch and offensive lineman Cade Mays were each listed as questionable by the team.
There is better news for veteran Rock Ya-Sin. After being limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday, he was a full participant on Friday and is expected to be available against Green Bay at Ford Field. Ya-Sin carries no injury designation for the week after working his way back from a hamstring injury that had sidelined him for the past few weeks.
Head coach Dan Campbell said the team has a decent idea of how much Branch and Mays will be used if they make their first appearance of the 2026 NFL season.
On the offensive side, the Lions were also asked this week about how to get rolling sooner, especially up front. Offensive coordinator Drew Petzing pointed to execution, play calling and staying in the moment as the main ingredients.
“Yeah, I think again, it's emphasized, it's stressed,” said Petzing. “And at the end of the day, sometimes it's play calls.
Sometimes it's execution. It's always a combination of both.
And honestly, and I've said it here before, anytime we don't score, I'm a little irked whether it's the first drive of the game or the last drive of the game. Was really excited that we have got it rolling and kind of saw it in the momentum carry into the next drive and the next drive and the next drive, which was excellent.
“But, kind of like the turnover piece, I also don't think you can overemphasize it because then you're putting too much pressure on it, you're paying attention to it too much,” Petzing commented further. “So again, it's doing your job.
It's calling the right plays. It's staying in the moment and doing it as hard and as fast as you can.
I think that's got to be the focus.”
In Other News...
Dan Campbell Finally Addressed Sam LaPortas Contract Frustration
Sam LaPortas frustration over his contract situation had become a talking point around the Lions, but Dan Campbell finally stepped in to put the moment in some perspective. Speaking to the media, Campbell made clear that Detroit is not reading the tight ends recent comments as anything bigger than a player who wants to be paid and has been waiting on the next step in his career.
From the Lions side, the message is that the noise stays outside the building. Campbell said LaPorta remains focused and ready to play, and he framed the remarks as pent-up frustration rather than anything that should change how the team views him. In a sport where contract conversations can quickly snowball, Detroits coach tried to draw a clean line between emotion and distraction. [Read more 🡒]
Dan Campbell Just Framed Detroits Biggest Packers Test Yet
Ahead of Week 7, Dan Campbell spent part of his media session sizing up the Packers as more than just another NFC North opponent, which is usually a good sign this one is going to demand Detroits best. He pointed to Green Bays defense even while acknowledging the injuries, and the bigger takeaway for the Lions is that this is not the same Packers team they saw earlier in the season. Campbell also sounded encouraged by new punt returner DeAndre Carter, a small but meaningful special teams wrinkle as Detroit continues to sharpen its overall operation.
Campbell also zeroed in on the pieces that have helped Green Bay settle in offensively, from a sturdier line to Jordan Loves recent play. For Detroit, the message was clear: the Lions cannot simply match what they did in their strongest outing against the Cardinals and expect that to be enough. If they want to keep control of the division picture, this feels like the kind of game where the details matter, and where the margin for error will be much smaller than it looked a few weeks ago. [Read more 🡒]
Lions Pass Rush Could Finally Flip A Frustrating Jordan Love Trend
Jordan Love has been plenty capable against the Lions, but one number has followed him through seven career starts in this matchup: he has never reached 300 passing yards. Detroit has had its share of issues defending the pass this season, yet the one area that can still change the tone of a game is its pass rush, especially against an opponent that has not always been able to keep the pocket clean.
The matchup gets even more interesting because Green Bays offensive line has taken on injuries that could leave Love exposed to pressure. If Detroit can turn that into disruption early, it may be the kind of game where the Lions do not have to solve every coverage problem behind them, because the rush up front does some of the heavy lifting for them. [Read more 🡒]