Green Bay was back on the practice field Thursday to continue its preparation for facing Detroit on Monday night at Lambeau Field. It gave reporters their first look at the Packers and their injury situation.

Safety Darnell Savage took the first step towards playing against the Lions, as he took part in practice on a limited basis. Savage injured his shoulder against New Orleans on an interception that got called back on a penalty.

“He’s progressing through, we’ll give him the week to see how he feels,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “But he’s been getting better, I would say every day. Certainly he’s a guy that we want available, because he’s a guy that can cover a lot of ground out there, he’s got great experience and explosiveness, and he’s a key member of this football team.”

Linebacker Za’Darius Smith was not at practice. He played through a back injury against the Saints that forced him to miss much of training camp, but was limited mostly to third downs.

“We’re not going to play him as much as we’d like to until we know that he’s healthy enough to do that,” LaFleur said. “And so until he can practice on a daily basis, it’s it’s hard to say that he’s 100%.”

Tight end Josiah Deguara and starting left guard Lucas Patrick are both in the concussion protocol, but they did at least attend practice, which is normally a good sign.

Safety Vernon Scott, who missed last Sunday with a hamstring injury, returned to practice.

Initial injury report for #Packers–#Lions. pic.twitter.com/R7OhSt0KpO

— Zach Heilprin (@ZachHeilprin) September 16, 2021