ALLEN PARK — The [Detroit Lions](https://detroitnews.sports.gracenote.com/football/nfl/team/1) will try to beat the Philadelphia Eagles without at least three starters.
Tight end Sam LaPorta (back), safety Kerby Joseph (knee) and cornerback Terrion Arnold (concussion) have all be ruled out for Sunday’s game at Lincoln Financial Field, along with defensive lineman Josh Paschal (back). The situation is particularly murky at cornerback, as both D.J. Reed (hamstring) and Amik Robertson (hamstring) were tabbed as questionable.
Head coach Dan Campbell said Friday he doesn’t see Reed playing against the Eagles. Robertson, meanwhile, told The Detroit News he was feeling “great,” and that he was dealing with some hamstring tightness. “It wasn’t nothing major,” Robertson said.
Down at least two starting defensive backs (Arnold and Joseph) and another (Reed) unlikely to play, the Lions will likely lean on some combination of Rock Ya-Sin, Nick Whiteside and Arthur Maulet at cornerback. Thomas Harper figures to continue starting in place of Joseph. Avonte Maddox, who can play nickel and safety, may see some opportunity, as well.
Also questionable for Sunday’s game are offensive linemen Taylor Decker (shoulder), Penei Sewell (ankle) and Miles Frazier (knee), defensive end Marcus Davenport (shoulder), linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez (knee), running backs Sione Vaki (ankle) and Jacob Saylors (back), and tight end Brock Wright (ankle).
Wright, who is expected to fill in for LaPorta, said his ankle is “good.”
“It might change a little bit. Of course, maybe a different snap count, stuff like that,” Wright said, when asked how much his role changes if he’s the team’s first option at tight end. “But overall, the job is always the same.”
Campbell said his trust in Wright is “sky high.”
“Brock’s a guy we don’t talk a lot about, but he’s the jack of all trades, man, he does everything for us, pass protect, run block, he can run some routes, he plays special teams, like, he’s one of the most dependable players we have on this team,” Campbell said.
“And at the end of the day, what you really need in the tight end position is versatility and smarts, and he’s got both of those, and he’s tough. He checks a lot of boxes of a well-rounded tight end, so that is always going to make me feel a lot better — make us, offensively, feel a lot better.”
So far this season, Wright has nine catches for 71 yards and two touchdowns.
Sewell and Decker did not practice Friday. It’s possible that the players were just resting their preexisting injuries. Decker was limited by his shoulder injury on Wednesday and Thursday, while Sewell missed Wednesday’s practice and was limited on Thursday.