Justin

Durant

We never heard that Durant suffered a concussion last week, but the Lions must suspect that it happened. Durant was held out of practice on Thursday, a sign that his status is in question for the Cowboys game this week. Bobby Carpenter would fill in if Durant can’t go.

It could be a helpful boost to Felix Jones’ fantasy matchup, at least on strong-side runs. Pro Football Focus graded Durant as a top-ten run-defending 4-3 outside ‘backer in the first three games. Bobby Carpenter will start.

Durant tweeted Tuesday that he “may be back on the field this week.” He has missed the Lions’ past three games. As long as he doesn’t suffer a setback this week, Durant will likely return against the Falcons on Sunday, sending Bobby Carpenter back to the bench.

Durant did not record a tackle as Bobby Carpenter filled in for the majority of the game. The severity of Durant’s pull is unknown.

Durant hadn’t practiced since signing with the club because of a minor hamstring tweak. He was immediately inserted as the first-team SAM linebacker, where he projects to start next to Sean Lee and Bruce Carter in the Cowboys’ new 4-3 defense.

Durant has already missed two games, and he’ll have to go through testing again this week to gain clearance. Coach Jim Schwartz concedes that he’s the “king of not presenting timetables,” but even if he was so inclined, he couldn’t suggest a timetable because the team has to “objectively let symptoms clear.” Bobby Carpenter has played well the past two weeks as a fill-in.

Durant returned to practice Thursday for the first time since sustaining the concussion two weeks ago. “I think I’m in,” Durant said of Monday’s game. “But we’ll see how it goes. We’ll see how the rest of the week goes.”

Durant’s concussion is lingering. Scheffler’s occurred late in last week’s win over the Bears. His absence makes Brandon Pettigrew a confident TE1 play.

“Hopefully we get something worked out to where I’m back in Detroit. I love the city, I love the fans, love playing there,” said Durant. At 27 years old, Durant is coming off the best season of his career which saw him register 103 tackles. He is also one of 12 free agents on defense for the Lions.

Both linebackers are among the eight Lions starters slated to hit unrestricted free agency. Travis Lewis and Tahir Whitehead, both selected late in the 2012 draft, are viewed as potential replacements in the starting lineup.