The Detroit Lions have had a powerful offense over the first three weeks of the season, but they may be without one of their key weapons against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 4: Amon-Ra St. Brown.
The 22-year-old wide receiver sprained his ankle in Week 3 against the Minnesota Vikings, and isn't sure if he'll be able to play through it.
"I'm not sure," St. Brown said Wednesday via the Detroit Free Press. "It's only the third day. Just coming in, doing the treatment and seeing how I feel day by day."
The injury came after an 11-yard catch in the second quarter. While on the ground, Vikings cornerback Patrick Peterson rolled over his leg. St. Brown had to leave the game briefly to get his ankle taped up, but returned and continued to play pretty productively — though he was far from comfortable.
"It definitely was hurting out there on Sunday," St. Brown said. "Like I said, I never really dealt with a sprained ankle, but when I was cutting and stuff, it was definitely hurting but I just pushed through. The adrenaline definitely helped a bit, but I had to push through and finish that game."
St. Brown has been a breakout star so far this season. He leads the Lions with 23 receptions, 253 receiving yards, and three receiving touchdowns, and leads all NFL wide receivers with 141 yards after the catch. The two clips below are just a small sampling of what he's done this season.
Amon-Ra St. Brown is a star in the making at wide receiver for the #Lions. He’s been off to a great start to his sophomore season in the #NFL. Imagine a healthy Jameson Williams opposite of 14? That’s exciting! pic.twitter.com/7cH2uN7i7w
— Jared Feinberg (@JRodNFLDraft) September 25, 2022
Only player in NFL history to have 8+ receptions and 1+ TDs in six straight games:
— PFN Fantasy Football & Betting (@PFNFantasy) September 22, 2022
☀️ Amon-Ra St. Brownpic.twitter.com/lPlusoBJWw
Taking that kind of ability out of the game would be a blow for the Lions for sure. St. Brown has had foot injuries in the past, but never a sprained ankle. He's also never missed a game before — according to mlive.com, he never missed a single one at USC, and hasn't missed one at the pro level either.
Unfortunately, Detroit's injuries go beyond St. Brown. Including him, 10 players were held out of Wednesday's practice for various injury issues, including wide receiver Josh Reynolds, tight end T.J. Hockenson, and running back D’Andre Swift.
The Lions of Weeks 1-3 could probably beat the Geno Smith-led Seahawks in Week 4. But if St. Brown (and others) aren't able to take the field, it could be a closer contest than expected.