Lions Start Jalen Reeves-Maybin's Practice Clock

Lions get veteran linebacker back at practice Thursday.

Detroit Lions linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin (42). / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

The Detroit Lions continued their preparations for the Chicago Bears Thursday with another outdoor practice.

After a total of nine players sat out on Wednesday, several players were back in actions after a rest day. Among the returning players were Brian Branch, Kevin Zeitler, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Za'Darius Smith, DJ Reader and Taylor Decker.

Offensive linemen Graham Glasgow and Frank Ragnow remained out, along with running back David Montgomery.

Detroit also started Jalen Reeves-Maybin's return-to-practice clock on Thursday. The Lions will have 21 days to evaluate the veteran linebacker, who has been out since Week 9 with a neck injury. Reeves-Maybin is one of the team's top special teams players and provides valuable depth at linebacker.

The Lions have been forced to navigate a number of injuries to their defense, and as a result have had to bring in new faces to bolster the depth.

With a number of players on injured reserve, the Lions have relied on midseason additions such as Al-Quadin Muhammad and Kwon Alexander to start on defense.

Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn has remained confident in the group's ability to handle the changes. Despite the losses of several significant players, Glenn's standard for production has remained the same throughout the year.

“We’ve said this from the beginning — the next guy’s got to come up and play. That’s the reason why they’re here. I’ve said this also, I’m not gonna disrespect any of the players we have here because they work their ass off just like everybody else," Glenn said. "And I hope you guys don’t do that also, because those guys deserve a chance to go out there and play whenever their time is to go play. Our personnel department does a really good job of finding guys who fit who we are, and we’re gonna put them on the field and we’re gonna play.” 

Additional reading

1.) Ben Johnson: 'There's a Fire' to Be NFL Head Coach

2.) Aaron Glenn Is Frustrated by Injury Bug: 'Losing Players Hurts'

3.) 'Nobody Writes Our Story': Lions Address 'Sky Is Falling' Narrative