Safety Daniel Thomas broke his hand in the Detroit Lions’ season-opening 27-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sept. 7. The former Auburn standout still played as Detroit won its next two games – 52-21 over the Chicago Bears on Sept. 14 and 38-30 over the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night.

But Thomas also has a fracture in his forearm, and that required surgery this week.

The Lions placed Thomas on injured reserve on Saturday, and he’ll be required to miss at least the next four games. The earliest that Thomas could play again is Nov. 2, when the Carolina Panthers visit Detroit.

An Alabama high school star at Lee-Montgomery (now named Percy Julian), Thomas had 50 special-team plays and nine defensive snaps for the Lions this season.

After 71 regular-season games across five seasons

See Full Page