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Lions rookie CBs Terrion Arnold, Ennis Rakestraw miss practice, Marcus Davenport returns

The Detroit Lions are getting thin in their secondary, but there's no reason to panic just yet.

The Lions practiced without three defensive backs Wednesday because of injury: Terrion Arnold briefly left last week's loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a finger injury but returned to finish the game; Ennis Rakestraw Jr. missed the game after he pulled a hamstring in warmups; and Ifeatu Melifonwu is still dealing with an ankle/Achilles injury that flared up during training camp.

The Lions (1-1) visit the Arizona Cardinals (1-1) on Sunday, where rookie receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. is coming off a four-catch, 130-yard game.

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Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold (0) breaks a pass intended for Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Trey Palmer (10) during the first half at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, September 15, 2024. The play was called pass interference on Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold.
Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold (0) breaks a pass intended for Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Trey Palmer (10) during the first half at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, September 15, 2024. The play was called pass interference on Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold.

Lions coach Dan Campbell downplayed Arnold's injury on Monday, calling it "nothing significant," and mentioned the Lions' first-round pick as part of the coverage plans against Harrison.

"He’s growing as he goes, and I think you just study what you see on tape, and we know what he is," Campbell said Wednesday during his weekly news conference in Allen Park. "And look, we’ve got C.D.’s (Carlton Davis) an experienced corner. He’s long, he can run, so I like the matchup and I like T.A. (Arnold), too. So, he’s getting better and hopefully he doesn’t catch fire against us.”

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Defensive end Marcus Davenport returned to practice Wednesday after missing the Tampa game with a groin injury, but the Lions were without linebacker Alex Anzalone (concussion) and left guard Graham Glasgow.

Amon-Ra St. Brown, who did not finish the Buccaneers game because of cramping, took part in the open portion of practice Wednesday.

Dave Birkett is the author of the new book, "Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline." Preorder it now from Reedy Press.

Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on X and Instagram at @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lions injury report: CBs Terrion Arnold, Ennis Rakestraw miss practice