The Detroit Lions' first preseason game of 2011 is on Friday night against the Cincinnati Bengals, and training camp continued on Wednesday afternoon as the team's second-to-last practice before Friday's game was held. Former Titans coach Jeff Fisher, whose son is a defensive assistant for the Lions, attended the practice (for the second day in a row) and watched it with actor and Michigan resident Jeff Daniels.
Unfortunately Fisher and Daniels did not get to see rookie wide receiver Titus Young practice. He was on the field for parts of practice earlier this week, but he was not able to practice on Wednesday. Tight end Brandon Pettigrew, cornerback Aaron Berry and safety Randy Phillips were also unable to practice. Pettigrew is dealing with a "mild" ankle injury and Berry has a "slight" groin pull. Both players are considered day-to-day. It's not clear what the status is for Phillips, who is dealing with a shoulder injury.
In addition to the injured players, offensive tackle Tony Ugoh did not practice on Wednesday. In fact, he wasn't at practice, and Tom Kowalski reports that Ugoh is considering retirement. With depth at offensive tackle pretty thin right now for the Lions they really can't afford to lose another player at the position, but then again, hopefully Jeff Backus is going to return soon. Tom Leyden said Backus was in pads "for a bit" on Wednesday, but he didn't practice. Even so, hopefully it's a sign that he intends to return soon.
In other Lions news, the team signed center Rudy Niswanger and safety Michael Johnson on Wednesday. Also, linebacker Quentin Davie was released. Check out Pride of Detroit for more on these moves.