Thursday marked the return of the Detroit Lions to the practice field in advance of their Week 8 Monday Night Football game against the Las Vegas Raiders. During the media-accessible portion of practice, David Montgomery, Jonah Jackson, Frank Ragnow, Benito Jones, and Malcolm Rodriguez were not in action.
Montgomery, Jones, Ragnow and Rodriguez were observed working out with trainers on the side. Jerry Jacobs, who was a late scratch for Detroit’s game at Baltimore with a knee injury, was participating in drills.
Montgomery suffered a rib injury in Detroit’s Week 6 win over Tampa Bay. He missed last week’s game against Baltimore and his status for Week 8 remains in doubt. In his absence, rookie Jahmyr Gibbs totaled 20 touches for 126 yards and his first career touchdown against the Ravens. Should Montgomery be held out, it is anticipated that Gibbs will make his third career start
“Best I can tell you on David is he continues to improve. Gibbs, like we said last week, I saw an improving player, took a step up,” said Dan Campbell. “That’s all you can ask for, is growth. We anticipate he takes another step up and we’ll keep doing things we feel like he does well and where he can continue to grow. But we’re pleased with where he’s at.” Campbell indicated that the Raiders’ (3-4) 30-12 loss to the Chicago Bears was not indicative of the true potential of the team.
“This opponent poses a threat. We believe that their experience from last week does not represent this club,” Campbell said. “They have weapons, which makes them a formidable squad. We have a lot on our plates and must recover, but we will. We are prepared to leave. It begins now. We’re prepared to move on now that everything has passed.”
