Detroit Lions CB Jeff Okudah leaves Giants game with concussion, might miss Thanksgiving
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. − Detroit Lions cornerback Jeff Okudah is in concussion protocol and out of Sunday's game against the New York Giants, after colliding with teammate WIll Harris, and the injury could keep him out of next week's Thanksgiving game against the Buffalo Bills.
Okudah was hurt early in the Sunday's second quarter, when he ran into Harris as the two crossed paths in the middle of the field.
Mike Hughes replaced Okudah, who has been the Lions' best defensive back this season.
The Lions have lost a player to a brain injury each of the past five weeks. The first four - Amon-Ra St. Brown, Kerby Joseph, Brock Wright and De'Shon Elliott - returned without missing a game, but did not clear concussion protocol until the Friday or Saturday of game week.
The Lions (3-6) host the Buffalo Bills, the NFL's second-ranked pass offense entering the week, on Thursday in their annual Thanksgiving game,
Okudah spent several minutes in the blue medical tent on the Lions sideline before heading to the locker room with trainers Sunday.
To clear concussion protocol, players must travel through a five-stage process that ends with being cleared by an independent neurologist after "tolerat(ing) full participation practice and contact without signs or symptoms."
The Lions also lost guard Evan Brown to an ankle injury in Sunday's first half.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions' Jeff Okudah has concussion, Thanksgiving game in doubt
