Tuesday was a day off for three NFC North teams. For the Detroit Lions, however, it was the equivalent of a Thursday and Friday practice as they prepare for their Thanksgiving Day matchup with the Houston Texans.
We will get injury designations on Wednesday, but it sure appears that the Lions won't have Jeff Backus at left tackle for the first time since the final week of the 2000 season. Backus didn't practice Tuesday because of a hamstring injury, and it appears that rookie Riley Reiff will take his place Thursday. Coach Jim Schwartz said that "nothing's been ruled yet," but it would appear that Backus would have to make significant progress over the next 48 hours to have a chance to play.
Meanwhile, safety Louis Delmas (knee) and defensive tackle Corey Williams (knee) both returned to practice. There appears to be a decent chance, at least, of Delmas returning. He has played only three games this season because of a knee injury first suffered in training camp, and Schwartz referred to him Tuesday as "literally the heart and soul of our defense."
We'll update you Wednesday when the final injury report is released.
