During Tuesday’s practice, Lions wide receiver Quintez Cephus suffered what looked to be a fairly serious leg injury.
With the addition of pads and contact to NFL training camp practices in recent days comes naturally increased likelihood of injuries with the upped intensity. During Day 2 with pads on at Detroit Lions training camp Tuesday, wide receiver Quintez Cephus suffered what could be a serious leg injury. He did not return to Tuesday’s practice.
Quintez Cephus made a great catch against Jeff Okudah in 1-on-1s but stayed down for a while. Needed help off field not putting much weight on his left leg
— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) August 2, 2022
Quintez Cephus down after a competitive 1-on-1 with Okudah. Walking off the field with help of two trainers. Seems like a lower body injury.
— Jeremy Reisman (@DetroitOnLion) August 2, 2022
Appears to be a leg injury. He was helped off the field by the coaching staff.
— Kory E. Woods (@KoryEWoods) August 2, 2022
The severity of Cephus’ injury isn’t exactly known, and an update probably won’t come until head coach Dan Campbell speaks to the media before Wednesday’s practice. But it simply did not look good, and the range out outcomes feels wide until more is known.
It’s a tough break for Cephus, who has carried a strong offseason into training camp thus far as he competes for a reserve role in the Lions’ receiving corps.
Quintez Cephus looking to get on track after last year’s injury
Cephus, a fifth-round pick by the Lions in 2020 out of the University of Wisconsin, started the 2021 season in promising fashion. He had touchdowns in Week 1 and Week 2, and two 60-plus yard games in the first four contests as opportunity knocked. But a broken collarbone just before halftime against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 5, with three catches for 38 yards to that point in the game, ended his season.
If Cephus ends up missing extended time, Trinity Benson is first in line for more opportunities. According to Justin Rogers of The Detroit News, Benson has seen some reps with the Lions’ first-team offense early this week.
With the retirement of undrafted rookie Corey Sutton on Monday and Jameson Williams on the NFI list, the Lions are starting to look a bit thin at wide receiver–if only in terms of having “camp bodies” to get through practices.