The Lions have been practicing without any of their last four second-round draft picks for much of the offseason workout schedule.
Wide receiver Titus Young is long gone, of course, but wide receiver Ryan Broyles, running back Mikel Leshoure and 2013 second-round cornerback Darius Slay have all been sidelined by injuries this spring. Broyles will be out a while longer after tearing his ACL last year, but Leshoure and Slay have taken a step toward returning to a full workload this week.
Both players participated in practice on Tuesday on a limited basis, with Slay saying that he felt “back to normal” after surgery to repair a torn meniscus he suffered while working out at his pre-draft pro day. Leshoure has been held out because of a hamstring issue that’s been an issue dating back to last season. Leshoure explained this offseason’s approach to handling the injury.
“During the season, it never really got a chance to rest and get it exactly where I wanted it to be at,” Leshoure said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “But like I said, it’s off-season OTAs, it’s no time to be out here trying to rush and do things. I’m not saying I haven’t been trying to get back. That’s been the plan. But we’re just being a little bit smarter this year, and I feel good today. Today was a good day for me.”
The Lions hope to see more of them in the future from both Leshoure and Slay and start seeing some returns on their second-round picks in the last three seasons.