Ennis Rakestraw Jr. left the Detroit Lions’ preseason opener after taking a shot to the shoulder against a Cincinnati Bengals player in the open field, and he spent time being evaluated before heading to the blue medical tent and then the locker room, according to multiple Lions reporters.
For Rakestraw, the timing couldn’t be worse. He’s entering his third season with the Lions and his third year in the NFL, trying to keep himself on the field during a wide-open competition at starting cornerback after the release of Terrion Arnold this offseason. Instead, his night ended early before he could even get through the first preseason game.
The concern is obvious because this looked familiar. Rakestraw appeared to land hard on the same shoulder area on the tackle that forced him out, and that brings back memories of last year, when he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in training camp. Seeing him go down again on a play where he led with his shoulder is not what Lions fans wanted to see.
There is still a chance the injury is not major and won’t require a procedure or a long absence. But the context matters.
Detroit has chosen not to hold joint practices this season, and the team has also leaned away from more intense practices in an effort to limit injuries. That makes live preseason reps especially valuable, and Rakestraw needed this time to make his case in a crowded cornerback battle.
Instead, he’s back in the spot fans have seen too often: dealing with an injury rather than building momentum on the field.
Detroit’s depth at cornerback in this game included Ryan Cooper Jr., Thomas Harper, Nick Whiteside, Aamaris Brown, and Keith Abney II. Right now, Rock Ya-Sin appears to be the favorite for the job, with Whiteside close behind him on the depth chart. Rakestraw, meanwhile, has still not broken through beyond a few strong reps against Jameson Williams in camp.
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