Lions tackle undergoes surgery
Detroit Lions left tackle Taylor Decker could miss part of the 2017 NFL season after suffering a shoulder injury during an organized team activities (OTA) workout last week.
The 23-year-old Decker, who started all 16 games last season as a rookie, had surgery on the shoulder on Monday, but Lions head coach Jim Caldwell offered little insight other than to say he expects the club’s first-round pick from the 2016 NFL Draft to play at some point this season.
“I don’t think so,” Caldwell said when asked if the six-foot-seven, 311-pound Decker could miss the season. “He got it repaired, so we’ll see how he progresses along.”
OTA workouts are not supposed to involve contact, but Caldwell offered little information on how the injury occurred.
“Sometimes (there are) noncontact injuries,” Caldwell said. “I didn’t say this was one of them, but I’m just talking about — I mean, it just doesn’t require that there’s any forceful contact for that to happen.
“And, one of the things you can assure is, we’ve been practising the same way for years and years and years. We’ve had spotters out there, NFLPA, everyone else. We’ve never been cited. We’ve never had an issue in that regard. We comply by the rules, but things happen sometimes in practice. Just the nature of business.”
The Lions have options on the roster to fill the void in Joe Dahl, Corey Robinson or Cornelius Lucas. The club could also move Rick Wagner, who was signed as a free agent to play right tackle, over to the left side or look for help through free agency or a trade.
GLENDENING UNDER KNIFE
Detroit Red Wings centre Luke Glendening had left ankle surgery that could keep the veteran sidelined for three-to-four months.
The 28-year-old Glendening had the surgery on Monday to repair tendon damage. Glendening, who had three goals and 14 points in 74 games last season, suffered a fractured ankle and partially torn tendons in a game against Carolina on March 27 and missed the final seven games of the regular season.
TIGERS MAKE MOVES
Detroit Tigers catcher James McCann began a rehab assignment on Tuesday with triple-A Toledo.
McCann suffered a left-hand laceration that needed five stitches to close after being hit by a pitch from Houston’s Mike Fiers on May 25.
McCann, 26, who was batting .204 with seven home runs and 17 RBI in 33 games, was placed on the 10-day disabled list the next day and was replaced on the roster by John Hicks.
Also, prior to Tuesday’s game, the Tigers reinstated second baseman Ian Kinsler from the DL and optioned outfielder JaCoby Jones to Toledo. Kinsler had been out with a hamstring injury.