The Detroit Lions begin the work week by welcoming back their top pass rusher to the football field.
The Lions activated defensive end Ezekiel Ansah from the active/physically unable to perform list and he will practice Monday, the team announced.
The 6-foot-5, 275-pound Ansah, who is playing the 2018 season under a $17.14 million franchise tag, underwent offseason knee surgery, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Ansah led the Lions defense with 12 sacks in 2017, and has 44 sacks over the past five seasons.
With a little more than a month before the start of the regular season, Ansah will now go about settling in first-year coach Matt Patricia's defense.
The Lions kick off preseason action Friday night on the road against the Oakland Raiders.
Here are the other injuries and transactions worth monitoring from Monday:
- New Chiefs wide receiver Sammy Watkins left practice early Monday due to a hip injury, per multiple reporters on the scene. Watkins signed a three-year, $48 deal with Kansas City this past offseason.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Inside Training Camp Live that Watkins' hip injury is believed to be minor, and the decision to pull him from Monday's session was precautionary.
- New York Giants cornerback Teddy Williams has requested his release to deal with a family health issue, a source told NFL Network's Mike Garafolo. Williams expects to play for Big Blue in 2018, but does not want to hold a roster spot or be placed on a season-ending reserve list in the meantime.
- Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict has passed his physical and is expected to return to practice, the team announced Monday.
- The Packers officially placed linebacker Jake Ryan on injured reserve Monday, ending his season. Ryan suffered a torn ACL in practice last week.
- Cardinals coach Steve Wilks announced that center A.Q. Shipley has a torn ACL.
- The Miami Dolphins signed former New York Jets running back Jeremy Langford.
