Ennis Rakestraw Jr. went down early in the Detroit Lions' first preseason bout of the 2026 season, hitting his shoulder against a Cincinnati Bengals player in the open field and staying down for a while. He was tended to by trainers, taken to the blue medical tent, and eventually taken to the locker room, per multiple Lions reporters.
Rakestraw, heading into his third season with the Lions and in the NFL, is seeking to stay as healthy as possible as Detroit has a wide-open competition at starting cornerback following the release of Terrion Arnold this offseason. But, this is just another blow to his health as he couldn't even stick through an entire preseason opener.
Rakestraw heads to locker room during Lions preseason opener
Rakestraw looked to bang up his shoulder on the tackle that forced him off the field, which is not a great sign for Lions fans familiar with his injury history. Last season, he ended up suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in training camp, so to see him get hurt on another tackle where he leaned in with his shoulder is a bad sign.
Obviously, it could just be a smaller injury and not one that'll require a procedure and him missing some time, but these live reps are so important with the Lions opting out of joint practices this season, and as they're leaning away from more intense practices to prevent injury. Rakestraw is also in the middle of a cornerback competition, where he's already seemingly falling to the bubble.
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Preseason should be where he shines, and now, he's landed in the exact same position that fans are used to seeing him in: injured, and not in the field.
Detroit's depth outside of Rakestraw in this contest includes Ryan Cooper Jr., Thomas Harper, Nick Whiteside, Aamaris Brown, and Keith Abney II. As of now, it looks like it's Rock Ya-Sin's job to lose, but Whiteside is a close second to him on the depth chart. Rakestraw has yet to breakout beyond a few great reps against Jameson Williams in camp.
We'll continue to update this piece as more information regarding Rakestraw's injury becomes available.
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