Brian Branch and Cade Mays could return to Lions practice this week, but their game-day timeline is complicated
Dan Campbell says Detroit is waiting on final medical clearance for Branch and Mays, potentially starting a ramp-up that could put Green Bay or Minnesota in play.
The Detroit Lions are getting some good news on the injury front this week. On Monday, Lions coach Dan Campbell said the team is hoping to get safety Brian Branch back to practice. Detroit is waiting on a final call from team doctors. We should know by Tuesday or Wednesday morning whether the Lions are designating him to return.
That wasn’t the only update. On Tuesday morning, Campbell went on 97.1 The Ticket in Detroit and said the Lions are hoping to get offensive lineman Cade Mays back to practice too. Campbell referred to it as the Branch plan, which means getting Mays back on the practice field this week as well. Same deal as Branch. The Lions want to hear from team doctors and get the final confirmation before they designate both players to return.
Don’t expect Branch or Mays against the Cardinals
Campbell was clear about one thing. You shouldn’t expect either player to suit up against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
That’s to be expected. These guys have to ramp back up, and nobody should want them rushed onto the field after a single week of practice. Campbell has said both Branch and Mays are doing well and haven’t had any setbacks in their rehab. That’s the good thing here. The bad thing is that “no setbacks” doesn’t mean “ready to play.”
So the question I have is pretty simple. How long is that ramp-up period going to be?
The bye week makes the timeline tricky
Typically, the Lions like to ramp players up over two to three weeks. Here’s how the calendar lines up for Detroit.
First, Branch and Mays would get a week of practice before the Lions head to Arizona. Then comes the bye week, when the team doesn’t practice. After that, there’s another week of practice before the Green Bay Packers come up in Week 7.
I’d imagine Mays and Branch stick around the facility during the bye and work with trainers to get back into the athletic grind of it all. That helps. Still, it isn’t the same as a full week of practice with the team.
That’s why I don’t know if the Lions necessarily put both of them out there against the Packers. Just to be safe, I’d say both players could probably return in Week 8 when Detroit hosts the Minnesota Vikings.
Now, you never know. Both of them could get to a point where they’re ready to go sooner than that, and the Lions could decide to put them out there against Green Bay. Considering Campbell’s comments about their rehab, that’s not a crazy thought.
Green Bay is the game everyone is thinking about
Arizona is out. That one is settled. The Packers game is the one we’re all thinking about right now. That’s a big game, and you could definitely use Branch back for it.
You could also definitely use Mays and see how that one looks. Getting him back would give Detroit another option up front.
I get the temptation to push it. When a game that big is on the schedule, everyone wants their best players available. But if the Lions get Branch and Mays back healthy for the long haul, waiting one extra week isn’t the end of the world.
Either way, this is good news for the Lions. We’ll see where it goes.
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