The Detroit Lions have been hoping - no, pleading - for health this offseason. Injuries ravished them last season to the point where they were nearly decimated prior to landing in the divisional round of the playoffs against the Washington Commanders, where they were eliminated.
That's why news of any major player returning is important for their success in 2025. They need to be as healthy as possible to begin the year, especially with one of the hardest schedules in the NFL.
News of offensive lineman Taylor Decker returning to camp is, therefore, a massive turning point for the Lions' offensive line moving forward as they look to rebuild following Frank Ragnow's retirement and the departure of Kevin Zeitler in the offseason. That's also why news of Ennis Rakestraw suffering a shoulder injury in training camp, followed by an ominous social media post from Terrion Arnold, is also massive news - for all the wrong reasons.
Decker back, Rakestraw out with another week of training camp underway
Decker's return comes after he spent time on the PUP list after going through shoulder surgery in the offseason. Team reporter Tim Twentyman was able to catch up with Decker ahead of this week's training camp, with the 31 year old tackle telling him that he expects nothing to change on the line this season in terms of expectations for everyone.
"Getting Decker back at practice gives the Lions a good month to get their starting offensive line ready for the Sept. 7 opener in Green Bay. Even with some of the new and moving parts along the interior, Decker said the expectation for their performance as a unit hasn't changed. 'The standard is the standard," he said. "We're expected to be one of the top offensive lines in the league.'"
Adding him to the depth chart means that the Lions are looking good to run out a pretty striking line in Week 1 barring any injuries from happening to starters between now and then. This includes rookie guard Tate Ratledge, who has been impressive in camp.
However, the Lions couldn't get one starter back without losing a key member of their depth chart in Rakestraw. The sophomore defender fell hard on his shoulder in practice on Sunday, and left the field after getting tended to by trainers. A post from Arnold, a fellow 2nd year defender, posted to social media on Monday and has made some nervous for the status of Rakestraw moving forward:
Terrion Arnold well-wishing Ennis Rakestraw: pic.twitter.com/cRi5xALVGn
— Pride of Detroit (@PrideOfDetroit) August 4, 2025
This could mean nothing regarding the severity of Rakestraw's injury. Arnold is pretty active on social media, often updating Lions fans about his own injuries throughout training camp. This could just be in support of Rakestraw having suffered a minor setback in camp. It could also mean Rakestraw's timeline to return is lengthier than we realize, and Arnold knows the road to a return might be daunting for Rakestraw to face down after such a hyped up offseason.
We have no updates as of Monday afternoon as to the injury status of Rakestraw, but we can only hope the injury-prone cornerback begins to turn a corner on that pattern sooner rather than later. If not, players like Rock Ya-Sin will start to get some heavy nods to become legitimate pieces of this Lions secondary.
