On Monday, the Detroit Lions designated edge defender Julian Okwara to return to practice. Okwara, who remains on injured reserve, can now practice with the team, starting immediately. Detroit will have a 21-day window to either activate Okwara to the 53-man roster or shut him down for the rest of the season. They can make that decision at any point during that window.
Okwara suffered what appeared to be an arm injury in the team’s preseason finale. While it seemed like that injury could jeopardize Okwara’s spot on the roster—as he was firmly on the roster bubble going into the final week of the preseason—the Lions, instead, opted to keep him on the initial 53-man roster, only to place him on IR a couple days later.