What It Means:

The Lions have a Week 6 bye, so there is an expectation that they will hold St. Brown and D'Andre Swift (shoulder/ankle) out to give them an additional week to heal. D.J. Chark (ankle) made it back to practice on Thursday, so Jared Goff should have at least one weapon back for Week 5 versus the New England Patriots. Either way, T.J. Hockenson (hip) will still be the favorite to dominate targets again if St. Brown is sidelined. Josh Reynolds and Kalif Raymond are in line for additional snaps and routes again.

Hock led the Lions with a 34.2% target share in Week 4 with St. Brown and Chark both inactive. Reynolds had an 18.4% target share and Raymond was tied for third at 13.2%. Per numberFire's advanced team metrics, the Patriots have a top-10 pass defense through four weeks of the season.