Scanning the Savanna: Leshoure practices, out Friday vs. Ravens

July 28, 2012; Allen Park, MI, USA; Detroit Lions running back Mikel Leshoure (25) during training camp at the Detroit Lions training facility. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-US PRESSWIRE

A ton of important news pieces hit the wire today regarding the Detroit Lions. Let’s scan the savanna:

• As ESPN’s NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert pointed out Wednesday afternoon, it is safe to say that the Detroit Lions made the correct pick in the 2009 NFL Draft by drafting quarterback Matthew Stafford over offensive tackle Jason Smith and linebacker Aaron Curry—for now. Smith was recently demoted to second string for the St. Louis Rams and Curry has played for two teams already in his short career.
• According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, running back Jahvid Best is most likely going to start the regular season on the team’s PUP list, which means he will be ineligible to play the first six games of the season and, as ProFootballTalk.com pointed out, it would mean Best is guaranteed to miss more than a year of football activity, dating back to the 2011 NFL season. It’s unfortunate for the Lions because the team invested a lot of resources into him via draft picks, contract money and developmental time.
• He may have missed the last 13 days of training camp and the first preseason game of the year, but running back Mikel Leshoure was able to practice for the first time this season during individual drills today. John Kreger of CBS Sports stated on Twitter that Leshoure looked just okay during individual drills and that the running back was cutting well, but also wasn’t practicing at full speed. Kreger also added that Leshoure was fifth in the running backs rotation during drills. He was working behind Kevin Smith, Keiland Williams, Joique Bell and Stephfon Green.
• Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press has confirmed on Twitter, via head coach Jim Schwartz, that Leshoure will be out Friday against the Baltimore Ravens.
• Safety Amari Spievey has been relegated to special teams, which means that he is currently struggling to hold onto his starting job since special teams is primarily for backups to take care of. He was unable to play last Friday against the Cleveland Browns because he suffered from headaches related to a concussion he got last season.
• Recent free agent signee Jacob Lacey took first-team reps at cornerback at today’s practice for the second day in a row. Rookie defensive back Bill Bentley took reps at the starting nickel position.
• The players who did not practice today include wide receiver Ryan Broyles, defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch, offensive lineman Jonathan Scott, defensive backs Chris Greenwood and Drew Coleman and running back Jahvid Best. As Chris McCosky of the Detroit News said on Twitter, Broyles is still unable to practice on back-to-back days as he recovers from his ACL injury. Coleman suffered a concussion, it has not been confirmed when, and he will be unable to participate in practice or in a game until he clears future concussion tests.
• Nick Fairley was able to practice today with his knee taped. Others who returned to practice today included linebacker Stephen Tulloch, defensive tackle Corey Williams and offensive tackle Jeff Backus.
• According to Adam Caplan, the San Francisco 49ers have released tight end Gijon Robinson and have replaced him with former Lions defensive end Ikaika Alama-Francis—one of Matt Millen’s infamous draft picks.
• For what it’s worth, local actor Jeff Daniels, star of the hit televisions series “The Newsroom,” was at Lions practice today.