Detroit Lions CB Ennis Rakestraw leaves practice with lower leg injury, and his path to the 53-man roster just got even harder
Ennis Rakestraw had finally started stacking the kind of practices the Detroit Lions needed to see from him. Then Thursday happened. Another injury, brutal timing, and an already difficult path to the 53-man roster may have just gotten even tougher.
Detroit Lions cornerback Ennis Rakestraw left Thursday’s practice with a lower leg injury, and while the severity remains unknown, the timing could not be worse for the former second-round pick trying to secure a roster spot heading into the 2026 regular season.
Look, we don’t know how bad it is. We don’t know what happened necessarily. But Rakestraw went down, had to leave, and is being evaluated. I’m not going to speculate on what the injury is, but it’s hard not to think this kid is just snakebit at this point.
Here we are in his third season, and he already had to leave the preseason game early because of an injury. It’s been up and down for him regardless. And then this week it was mostly all up. I was at practice on Wednesday, wrote an article, talked about it in our videos about how Rakestraw had been stacking good days. He was doing everything Lions coach Dan Campbell said he needed to do. Campbell noted a couple weeks ago that it had been up and down for Rakestraw, but that he needed to string together some good days. That is exactly what Rakestraw had been doing.
I started looking at it like this team might carry up to eight cornerbacks because Rakestraw was putting forth work you just can’t ignore. I was starting to think he had a real shot to make this roster.
And now here we are. He leaves practice with a lower leg injury.
Can Rakestraw still make this team?
Again, we do not know what the injury is. I’m not going to speculate on whether it’s long-term, short-term, or what have you. But it hurts. It is tough for him to go through this at this point.
There are three practices left for the Lions, plus two preseason games: one on Saturday and then one against the Indianapolis Colts next weekend. I can’t tell you right now if Rakestraw is going to play Saturday. I can tell you that when I get to Ford Field on Saturday, I’m going to be looking for him. If he’s not out on the field during warmups, that’s going to tell you something. If he’s not suited up, that’s not going to be good for him.
The cornerback room is stacked against him
When I look at this Detroit Lions cornerback room as it stands, the math is brutal for Rakestraw.
D.J. Reed has the spot. He’s the cornerback one of this team. Rock Ya-Sin is the backup, the other starter. Nick Whiteside has been undeniable all summer long. Nobody is taking his job. He’s going to be on the 53-man roster, no doubt about it. He’s probably the cornerback three at this point. He’s been that good. Roger McCreary has looked good, and I think he’ll make it. Christian Izien is probably going to be the starting nickelback when the season starts. Keith Abney, the rookie, has looked good. Khalil Dorsey has looked good on defense, but more importantly on special teams. I think he’s one of the best gunners in the entire league. He’s so good on special teams that you can’t walk away from him.
That’s seven cornerbacks right there. Detroit would have to carry eight for Rakestraw to make the roster, and I have a hard time seeing that.
If the Lions want to carry seven, who is Rakestraw getting in above? It’s not McCreary. While McCreary has been up and down too, at least he’s been able to stay on the field and make some plays. I’ve watched him be sticky in coverage. It can’t be Dorsey, because Dorsey is so good on special teams and can also play defense. We saw that all summer long.
This feels like the end
I just don’t see a path for Rakestraw at this point. I hate to say it, but this feels like the death knell. You hope to be wrong. You hope maybe it turns out to be nothing serious and he’s going to be just fine. But even if he is just fine, I don’t know how he gets on this team. Two injuries this summer, an up-and-down camp, a few good days stacked together, but was it enough? I don’t know.
It’s starting to look like the Lions are going to have one, maybe two players from the 2024 NFL Draft left on this roster. Christian Mahogany is the starting left guard, and then Sione Vaki, who I didn’t have on my 53-man roster projection last week but who I have a hard time keeping off the roster. I think he’s going to make it.
Saturday is going to be the big thing we’re looking for. Is Rakestraw even going to be on that field? If he is, how much is he going to play? If he’s not starting and not getting a ton of reps, it’s going to tell you all you need to know. It’s disappointing. He’s a second-round pick. You want this to work out, but unfortunately it doesn’t seem like it’s going to.
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