Lions counting on DE Washington

Aug 18, 2017 - 3:56 AM ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Cornelius Washington is expected to take over at left end for the Detroit Lions after Kerry Hyder's season-ending Achilles tendon injury.

Washington, who has three sacks in 30 career games - Hyder had a team-high eight sacks last year - returned to practice on a full-time basis this week after missing about a week of camp with a sprained ankle.

"Of course, I don't like how this is going down," Washington said. "I was expecting to have to battle Kerry for the spot, but we still got some young guys coming up, Alex (Barrett) is playing very well, so it's not going to be easy by a long shot. But like I said, it's not the way I wanted it to happen, but it seems like that's the way it's going to go."

Lions head coach Jim Caldwell called Washington a "power rusher" whose skills complement the rest of the defensive line.

"He's got all the intangibles you're looking for in terms of hustle and drive and tenacity and all those kinds of things," Caldwell said. "He's going to be able to set an edge for you, that's for certain."

--Caldwell said he won't take any extra precautions with his starting lineup even though the Lions lost two players (Hyder and Brandon Copeland) to season-ending injuries against the Colts.

"No. Plain and simple," Caldwell said. "You can't play this game that way. You can't coach it that way. You can't play it that way. If that's all you think about is injuries, these are not pheasants under glass. They got to get out and they got to play and play the game. You don't back down from that. If you get nervous and you're scared, you might want to go get another job. Do something else."

--Eric Ebron pulled a hamstring early in the Lions' first training camp practice, and the oft-injured tight end has only briefly returned to the field since.

Ebron took part in position and special-teams drills (as a wing blocker on the field-goal unit) in one joint practice with the Colts last week. Caldwell said after the workout that Ebron would "be back (this) week for us rolling along." Though that hasn't happened, Caldwell insisted Ebron has not suffered a setback in his recovery.

"He's just got a couple issues that he's dealing with," Caldwell said. "He's just got a couple things, and he's not quite ready yet. So, hopefully he'll continue to heal and we'll get him back out there soon."

Notes: Wide receivers TJ Jones and Kenny Golladay split first-team reps as the No. 3 receiver on offense this week. Golladay worked alongside Golden Tate and Marvin Jones in practice Wednesday, with Tate moving to the slot in three-receiver sets, and Jones returned to first-team duties as the slot receiver on Thursday. Jones, who spent the first two weeks with the No. 1 offense, played as an outside receiver with the twos Wednesday. ... Safety Tavon Wilson is not out of the clear when it comes to potential discipline from the NFL after his ex-girlfriend sued him this summer for injuries she alleges he caused in a 2016 incident at a Washington, D.C., nightclub. Head coach Jim Caldwell said, "The league has the information," and has not yet informed the Lions of any findings it's made. ... Linebacker/defensive end Brandon Copeland announced on Twitter that he underwent surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle on Thursday. Copeland cleared waivers and will spend the season on injured reserve.

Guard T.J. Lang, who underwent hip surgery in January when he was still a member of the Green Bay Packers, has only practiced on back-to-back days once this preseason, and he did not do team drills on the second of those days. Lang did not play in last week's preseason opener against the Colts. ... Running back Mike James suffered a concussion in the first week of training camp and was placed on injured reserve this week. James was a longshot to make the 53-man roster, where Ameer Abdullah, Theo Riddick, Zach Zenner and Dwayne Washington appear to be locked into the top four running back jobs.