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Austin Bryant dealing with another injury; Detroit Lions place 1 on COVID list

Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press
·2 min read
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Training camp does not officially open for three days and already the Detroit Lions have a player on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

The Lions placed undrafted rookie offensive lineman Evan Heim on the COVID list Sunday.

More than half of the Lions' current 89-player roster and all of their assistant coaches are vaccinated, though Heim's vaccination status is unclear.

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The NFL has two sets of rules currently in place for players and staff members who test positive for COVID-19. According to a memo obtained by NFL.com, vaccinated players players who test positive and are asymptomatic can return to practice after two negative tests 24 hours apart, while non-vaccinated players must isolate for 10 days following a positive test.

Lions rookies, quarterbacks and injured players reported for training camp Saturday, while the full roster reports Tuesday and the team begins practice Wednesday.

The Lions also placed outside linebacker Austin Bryant on the physically unable to perform list, and rookie receiver Javon McKinley on the non-football injury list Sunday.

Lions defender Austin Bryant on the field before the game against the Minnesota Vikings at Ford Field on Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021.
Lions defender Austin Bryant on the field before the game against the Minnesota Vikings at Ford Field on Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021.

Bryant has played in just 10 of a possible 32 games since the Lions made him a fourth-round pick out of Clemson in 2019. He spent time on injured reserve in each of his first two seasons because of pectoral injuries and missed time last year with a thigh injury.

Bryant, who has 25 tackles and on blocked punt in his career, is expected to compete for a roster spot as an edge rusher this fall. He missed practice time in the spring with what head coach Dan Campbell called "a minor little injury."

"We’re just holding him to be smart about it," Campbell said at he time. "We expect him to be ready to go for training camp, full-tilt no problem. He’s been, up till that happened he’s done a nice job for us but no issues there."

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions place 1 on COVID list; Austin Bryant injured