Lions RB Not Spotted at Wednesday Practice

The Detroit Lions had several players sidelined for Wednesday's practice, the final one before their Friday preseason showdown with the Atlanta Falcons.

Among the players not participating in Wednesday's practice were Sione Vaki, Brodric Martin, Terrion Arnold, Dominic Lovett, Ennis Rakestraw, Dan Skipper, Jamarco Jones and Pat O'Connor.

Some of the absences were correlated to a trio of players leaving early from Monday's practice. Lovett (abdominal), Jones (ankle) and O'Connor (leg) all were evaluated for injuries after departing the practice early.

Lions coach Dan Campbell said prior to Wednesday's practice that all three of those players would likely be sidelined for around a week. He didn't imply that any of the injuries to those three players would be serious.

"It'll be, whatever, a week on a couple of guys," Campbell said. "Lovett, maybe 10 days but they're good. It's just gonna take minute."

Vaki's absence was a surprise, as he had just recently returned to practice on Sunday after missing time with a hamstring injury. The running back expressed excitement during a recent media session about possibly contributing against the Falcons in Friday's game.

After contributing primarily on special teams last season, Vaki is hoping to earn a bigger role in the backfield in his second NFL season.

Martin has been out for two straight practices for undisclosed reasons. The third-year defensive tackle is facing an important training camp with the Lions having restocked their defensive line depth.

Arnold remains sidelined with a low-grade hamstring injury, while Rakestraw is sidelined with a shoulder injury. Campbell did not have an update after saying on Monday that he anticipated that the defender would be out for "a while."