Five starters for the Lions missed practice on Wednesday.
On offense, quarterback Matthew Stafford, running back Jahvid Best and wide receiver Nate Burleson were absent. Stafford, as we all know, is still recovering from the shoulder injury he experienced in the Bears game. Best is dealing with an apparent turf toe injury and will likely have to play through the pain if he wants to be active on Sunday. Burleson is recovering from a supposed high ankle sprain and hopes to play this week.
On defense, linebacker DeAndre Levy and safety Louis Delmas were out. Levy only played for the first time all season last week because of a groin injury, and he proceeded to injure his calf as well. As a result, his status for Sunday is in doubt because of more than one injury. On the flip side, Delmas missed practice, but just like the previous few weeks, that doesn't mean he will be out. Delmas usually takes a day or two off but still plays, so I'd hope that is the case this week.
Running back Aaron Brown also was unable to practice today because of a hand injury. If both Best and Brown can't play this week, Kevin Smith will for sure be active, as the Lions are running out of healthy running backs.
To leave you with some positive news, offensive guard Stephen Peterman and linebackers Zack Follett and Landon Johnson all practiced. Peterman got banged up against Minnesota (after getting banged up against Philadelphia) and the two linebackers both missed the Vikings game, so it's good that they were practicing on Wednesday.