Detroit Lions wide receiver DJ Chark is on IR of course, but when might he be back in action?
The signing of wide receiver DJ Chark hasn’t worked out for the Detroit Lions. Even before an ankle injury that has sidelined him in recent weeks, he had just seven catches for 98 yards and a touchdown over three games this season.
Chark was placed on IR on Oct. 22, so it’s been two weeks and he’ll miss his third of four minimum games on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. A few days before that, Chark had a grim comment on his injury.
"I’m not really too comfortable speaking too deep into the detail of (the injury), just because I’m trying to figure out everything myself,” “But I definitely will be back this year for sure. Like I said, sooner rather than later. I don’t want to put one or two games on it, but my goal is to be back.”"
Detroit Lions: When will DJ Chark be back?
That Chark felt the need to promise he would play again this season, before he would have to miss at least four more games on top of the two he already had at the time, was interesting. It also confirmed the good move by the Lions to sign him to a one-year prove-it deal in the offseason, so signing him won’t go down as a big free agency mistake.
On Thursday, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press answered a fan on Twitter who was looking for an update on Chark.
He told me last week he expects it to be a minimum IR stay https://t.co/e4kj9peo7i
— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) November 3, 2022
A minimum IR stay for Chark will end after Week 10 against the Chicago Bears. So Week 11 against the New York Giants could be Chark’s return game. Week 12 Thanksgiving Day against the Buffalo Bills follows that on a short week, so it’s worth wondering how that might factor into if Chark plays or not against the Bears.
When Chark will be back on the field certainly feels inconsequential to many Lions’ fans, with the team sitting at 1-6 and especially given how little he was producing before he was injured. But getting back on the field is important for him personally, as he tries to better set himself up for free agency again this offseason.