Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and running back David Montgomery both logged full practices Wednesday ahead of the team’s Thanksgiving game. Both players are still questionable to play but are trending in the right direction.

Despite dealing with setbacks on a short turnaround, Lions head coach Dan Campbell expressed optimism that both players would be available earlier this week. Montgomery will try to play through a shoulder injury while St. Brown is dealing with knee soreness.

Even without two star players, the Lions would still be a dangerous opponent for the Bears Thursday. With Jameson Williams and Sam LaPorta catching passes and Jahmyr Gibbs in the backfield, Detroit’s attack would still be extremely potent, if somewhat diminished.

With Montgomery and St. Brown both getting a full practice in, however, Detroit should be fully equipped with its usual offense. Montgomery has paired perfectly with Gibbs all season, as the two have combined to form the most dangerous rushing game in the NFL. St. Brown, meanwhile, is having another career year as one of the league’s top wide receivers.

Though the two playmakers were major names on the injury report, they were not the only Lions players dealing with issues. Cornerback Carlton Davis and tackle Taylor Decker have already been declared out, while cornerback Terrion Arnold and defensive lineman D.J. Reader have been cleared of a designation. The team sent wide receiver Kalif Raymond to the IR earlier this week.

The Bears aren’t dealing with any notable injuries, but with rookie Caleb Williams under center, the team is sure to be an underdog against the NFC’s strongest team. Williams nearly led Chicago to an upset victory over the Vikings last week, a strong performance that could help the team build momentum in a daunting NFC North division.

The Detroit Lions have released veteran wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr., who says he is stepping away from the team to deal with family matters.

Jones announced the news via an Instagram post. 

“To be brief, I am stepping away from the team to care of personal family matters,” the post read. “Although this was no easy decision, I cannot be the person [and] player that I need to be for this team as well as tend to my family from afar.”

“This organization has been amazing [in] showing love and support for myself and my family over the years and this time is no different,” he added. “For that I am appreciative. To my brothers and coaches, I will be rooting for you every step of the way! This is the year! Go get it!” 

Jones signed with Detroit in April. Despite this, he moved his family from Miami to San Diego, as he planned to sign with a West Coast team prior to signing with Detroit.

He had five catches for 35 yards in six games this season. He did not travel with the team during its most recent game against the Baltimore Ravens.

The Lions, who are 5-2, will host the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday Night Football.

Calvin Johnson is working to repair his relationship with his former team, the Detroit Lions. The former wide receiver was notified on Saturday that he will be inducted into the Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2021. The former Lion made it to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

During Johnson’s Sunday Hall of Fame press conference, he revealed that he is working with the Lions to repair their relationship. The former stud wideout revealed that he had talks with Lions owner Sheila Hamp. “We’ve had some great conversations recently, and it’s been good to get to know her and just really have those face-to-face conversations,” Johnson said. The first-ballot Hall of Famer believes that their conversations are progressively getting better. “I think that we’re moving in the right direction,” he added.

Johnson was drafted by the Lions and played with them from 2007-2015. The 35-year-old became a star for the team as he was selected to the Pro Bowl six times. “Megatron” retired in 2015 and is the Lions’ all-time leader in receptions (731), receiving yards (11,619) and receiving touchdowns (83).

Johnson’s relationship with the team ended on a sour note when he retired. The issue between the two sides stems from Johnson having to return the $1 million signing bonus he was given during the start of his final contract. Since then, the retired wide receiver has not made any appearances with the Lions.

Hamp told ESPN that she wanted to reconcile with the wide receiver. “I hope we can repair things with Calvin Johnson,” she said. “He was obviously an amazing player for us, and we’re going to continue to reach out to him and hope that we can repair things because I think it’s important that he come back into the Lions family.”

It certainly did not take long for Matthew Stafford to get acquainted with his new coach Sean McVay.

Stafford had spent his whole career with the Detroit Lions before being traded to the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams’ coach was impressed with Stafford’s ability, especially based on the latest film. It was from these replays that McVay decided he needed Stafford on his roster. The Los Angeles coach was impressed by the veteran quarterback’s ability to quickly process information, quick movement and play urgency. The coach then called Rams’ owner Stan Kroenke to sign off on a trade for Stafford.

Negotiations between the Lions and Rams resulted in a trade that sent the 32-year-old to Los Angeles for the Rams’ first round picks in 2022, 2023, a 2021 third round pick and QB Jared Goff.

After the deal was finalized, Stafford and McVay met and shared a meal together. The newly acquired QB was with his wife and dined with the coach and his fiancee. The lunch outing shows a great sign of a promising relationship on the field.

Adrian Peterson has been ordered by a court to pay $8.3 million to a Pennsylvanian loan company after defaulting on a loan in 2016.

DeAngelo Vehicle Sales LLC sued the former NFL MVP in 2018 after the running back failed to pay back an initial sum of $5.2 million, including interest, by March 1, 2017. The company proceeded to ask for $6.5 million, plus interest for every day that Peterson failed to pay, when they sued the Detriot Lions running back in the New York State Supreme Court. That was over two years ago. Since the lawsuit, interest has accrued daily at 16% or $2,207.12 per day.

Last Wednesday, DVS asked for $8.3 million, but the interest was lowered from 16% to 9% due to New York State law.

The seven-time Pro Bowler acknowledged the existence of the loan in 2019 during the initial settlement agreement. In this agreement, Peterson agreed to make $50,000 payments on October 18 and October 31 of 2019. He also agreed to make a $2.25 million payment on November 11, 2019, and then a final $25,000 payment within 10 days of his option being picked up by the Washington Football Team for the 2020 season. The agreement stated that if Peterson defaulted, he would have to pay the entire loan, plus interest.

The attorney for DVS, Jeffrey Reina, said last Wednesday that the running back had only paid $165,000 of the initial agreement. In addition, the company had not heard from Peterson or any of his representatives. Adding insult to injury, the former MVP failed to appear in court last Wednesday. Over his 14-year career in the NFL, Peterson has made an estimated $100 million.

With just two games remaining in the season, the Detroit Lions have fired special-teams coach Brayden Coomb. Sources from the organization have attributed the reasoning of a culture clash to explain the decision to fire Coomb.

The firing comes after a fake punt play that was done without the knowledge of coaches and players on the field. On Sunday against the Tennessee Titans, in the fourth quarter, a fake punt play was called which almost led to Lions safety C.J. Moore converting.

The fake punt play was the final straw for the team.

The Lions under Coombs was ranked third in the league for punting and second in net punting average. Additionally, Detroit was 11th in kick returns and 16th in punt returns. The team was doing well in its special teams with Coombs.

Coombs firing comes as Detroit continues to clean house in rebuilding and changing its organization up. Earlier this season, the team fired head coach Matt Patricia and general manager, Bob Quinn.