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Calvin Johnson, Louis Delmas, three others return to Lions practice

Chris McCosky/ The Detroit News

Allen Park— Five of the six Lions starters who missed practice on Wednesday returned Thursday.

Tight end Brandon Pettigrew is the only one still sidelined. He is nursing a sore shoulder, which coach Jim Schwartz characterized as “in-season bumps and bruises.” At this point, he is expected to play Sunday in Minnesota.

Receiver Calvin Johnson (ankle), linebacker DeAndre Levy (knee), safety Louis Delmas (hip) and defensive ends Cliff Avril (knee) and Kyle Vanden Bosch (rest) were back on the practice field.

Still not practicing are receiver Rashied Davis (hamstring), offensive tackle Jason Fox (foot) and defensive tackle Nick Fairley (foot).

Receiver Maurice Stovall is still limited by a hand injury. He is still not working in on the special-teams drills, so there is a good chance he will be inactive again on Sunday.

Right tackle Gosder Cherilus was, for the second straight day, taking reps with the first team offense.

Lions rookie Nick Fairley says injury is no setback

Chris McCosky/ The Detroit News

Allen Park— Rookies, even those drafted 13th overall, can ill-afford any setbacks in this condensed, post-lockout training camp.

Thus, there was a high level of concern throughout the organization when defensive tackle Nick Fairley’s sore left foot was in a walking boot Tuesday, the first day the Lions were full pads.

“It’s not a (setback) at all,” said Fairley, as he walked past reporters after practice. “I am doing what I can to get back as soon as I can.”

The fact that neither he nor coach Jim Schwartz could accurately say when he might be back, or what the full extent of the injury was, heightens the concern.

Schwartz said Monday, after Fairley injured the foot on a special-teams drill, preliminary X-rays were negative. Yet on Tuesday, the Lions medical staff was examining the foot for a possible stress fracture or other complications.

“We are still doing some tests,” Schwartz said. “We are having a lot of different people look at it. He’s down for now.”

When asked if he’d term it a long-term or short-term injury, Schwartz said, “I really can’t say right now.”

Fairley, like the other rookies, already was working from behind because all the offseason team work was canceled by the lockout. He didn’t have the benefit of a rookie orientation, rookie minicamp or team OTAs.

“Rookies have a lot on their plate,” Schwartz said on the eve of training camp. “Usually they are here on May 17 or before that. They have a rookie orientation, they get to mix in with the vets and work out at the facility. They are learning the system and going through OTAs and minicamps and by the time they get to training camp they are familiar with the system and we know they are in shape. They know their teammates and they know their way around. They have all that stuff under their belt and they can go out to training camp and compete for spots and playing time.

“What happens now is, they have to learn the system while all of that other stuff is going on. They are starting from zero. It’s a lot to manage.”

Even before the foot injury, Fairley was not expected to come in and start or make an immediate impact like Ndamukong Suh did last season. He was working in as the fourth or fifth defensive tackle behind Suh, Corey Williams, Sammie Hill and Andre Fluellen.

So, though the injury is a concern, it’s far from a deflating blow to the team’s optimism.

“He can pick up some things from watching on the sidelines,” Williams said. “He can watch the technique of some of the vets. There’s some stuff he can do while he’s out, but it’s no replacement for actually being out there doing it.”

Dealing with injuries is an inevitability of any training camp, but without the offseason work, teams are forced to make tough decisions on when they can bring players back. Case in point: starting right tackle Gosder Cherilus, coming off microfracture knee surgery, hasn’t practiced the last two days. He’s dealing with soreness and the coaches aren’t quite sure how much to push him.

“We would have liked to see him bounce back,” Schwartz said. “Guys coming off knee surgery, you know it’s going to get sore but you want to get past it. You don’t want to put them out there when it’s still sore but you want to push them through.

“In the past, we’d push them through (the soreness) in OTAs and figure out the best way to handle it then.”

Now, precious work days are being lost while they try to work Cherilus through the soreness.

In other injury news, running back Maurice Morris left practice Tuesday because of a sore left hand. The results of X-rays were not available after practice.

Linebacker Zack Follett (neck) had a scheduled day off. Cornerback Jack Williams (knee) and rookie linebacker Cobrani Mixon (unspecified) also missed practice.

Rookie receiver Titus Young (leg) and starting left tackle Jeff Backus (pectoral muscle) are on the non-football injury list.

With Backus and Cherilus out, Schwartz has had to be creative with his line drills. Second-year tackle Jason Fox has taken some reps at guard. Veteran guard Donald Thomas has worked some at tackle. And rookie Johnny Culbreath has gotten way more work than would be normal for a seventh-round pick.

“It’s not experimental, it’s by necessity,” Schwartz said. “With Backus and Gos out, and with (tackle) Corey Hilliard, (guard-center) Dylan Gandy and (Tony Ugoh) still unable to practice (signed free agents), it’s forced guys to do double duty and cross train at other positions. We are getting a good look at some of these guys.”

Camp update

Lions training camp practices today (9:15 a.m.) and Thursday (4:15 p.m.) are open to the public. Gates open a half-hour prior to the start time; access is on a first-come, first-serve basis.

chris.mccosky@detnews.com

Lions unlikely to make significant changes in 2011

Chris McCosky / The Detroit News

Allen Park— There have been times after the season’s final game when Dominic Raiola could look around and count on his hands the number of players likely to return.

That count took a lot longer after this year’s final game.

“I know the nucleus of this team is coming back,” he said. “We’ve walked out of here in the past not knowing what was going to happen. But I see most of these guys, coming back.”

That, as much as the season-ending four-game winning streak, is fueling optimism.

“Across the board, offense and defense, we are still looking to improve the roster,” coach Jim Schwartz said Monday. “We are still looking to improve our starting 22. But we aren’t looking at an overhaul. Even at the spots where we do have need, it’s not like it was last year with the defensive backs where we erased everybody except Louis Delmas.

“There are a lot of guys here that we will continue moving forward with, and a lot of them might not be starters.”

Every starter and main backup on offense is expected to return for 2011.

On defense, starting defensive end Cliff Avril can be a restricted free agent (pending a new collective bargaining agreement), while starting cornerback Chris Houston and defensive end Turk McBride could become restricted free agents.

The Lions, however, can tender offers to all three.

Among those who likely have played their final games in Detroit are outside linebacker Julian Peterson, cornerback Nathan Vasher (unrestricted) and safety C.C. Brown (unrestricted).

Outside linebacker Landon Johnson is also unrestricted, but the Lions may try to keep him.

“We have talked before about having to address the starting 22 before you can address your depth,” Schwartz said. “What has happened this year is, because of the injuries and other things, we have been able to address a lot of the depth issues. Now we have to start adding pieces to the starting 22.”

Offense Quarterbacks

The top two are set. Matthew Stafford , who said Monday his shoulder was nearly back to full strength, is the starter, and Shaun Hill , who led the team to three victories, is No. 2.

The Lions would love to re-sign Drew Stanton as the No. 3, but as an unrestricted free agent, he will be looking to compete for a No. 1 or No. 2 spot somewhere. Still, if no suitable opportunities come his way, he said he would have no trouble returning as the third option.

Running backs

The top two spots are set — probably. Jahvid Best (turf toe) said he will need at least eight weeks of rest to completely heal. He should be ready to resume the starting role next season.

Maurice Morris , entering his 10th season, will have the first shot to win the backup role, but the Lions are expected to bring in one and probably two other backs.

They will have to decide whether to bring back Kevin Smith , who has had health issues the last three seasons, and underachieving second-year man Aaron Brown . The guess is Smith comes back, not Brown.

FB Jerome Felton could be a restricted free agent, but the Lions are expected to bring him back.

Receivers

Calvin Johnson and Nate Burleson will be back, as will return ace and jack-of-all-trades Stefan Logan .

But the Lions will be looking to upgrade the depth.

Bryant Johnson , who has one year left on his contract ($3 million), was unproductive all season.

Derrick Williams , a former third-round pick, has been a disappointment the last two seasons.

Tight ends

Absolutely set with Brandon Pettigrew , Tony Scheffler and Will Heller signed through next season.

Line

The starters are expected back, although there is some concern about RG Stephen Peterman , who struggled at times (partly due to a lingering foot injury).

Corey Hilliard , who filled in admirably when RT Gosder Cherilus went down, can be a restricted free agent. It’s hard to imagine the Lions letting him go, but some team could swoop in and steal him.

The Lions signed veteran T Tony Ugoh late, but he wasn’t able to get on the field before rookie Jason Fox did, so it’s doubtful he’s part of the plan.

Defense Line

At end, Kyle Vanden Bosch is expected to make a full recovery from neck surgery and start. E Lawrence Jackson also will return. And it seems improbable the Lions wouldn’t re-sign Cliff Avril and Turk McBride .

It will be interesting to see what they do about rookie Willie Young . They love his athleticism, but he’s going to have to show them a lot more maturity and a stronger work ethic next season.

At tackle, starters Ndamukong Suh and Corey Williams , as well as top reserve Sammie Hill , are back. The Lions will have to make a decision on backup Andre Fluellen , who can be a restricted free agent.

Linebackers

This is one of the biggest areas of need.

DeAndre Levy will return and probably start at middle linebacker. But there he might be moved outside, depending on whom the Lions draft or acquire through trade or free agency.

Most likely there will be two new starters on the outside. The Lions aren’t bringing back Julian Peterson and his $8 million contact. And Zach Follett , the starter before suffering a serious neck injury, may not be ready.

Bobby Carpenter and Ashlee Palmer will likely return, but not as starters.

Landon Johnson is a tricky one. They loved his play, but he has a history of concussions.

The Lions also will have to make a decision on Jordon Dizon , an undersized middle linebacker who blew out his knee in the first exhibition.

Backs

The Lions probably will invest significantly to bring Chris Houston back. He showed he could be a shutdown cornerback on the left side and drafting at No. 13, they aren’t likely to get the impact player they hoped for.

The right side corner spot is wide open. Alphonso Smith probably will get the first shot to win it. Tye Hill , Aaron Berry , Brandon McDonald , Prince Miller , Jack Williams and Eric King could be in the mix.

At safety, Louis Delmas is the only sure bet.

The Lions liked the development of rookie Amari Spievey , and veteran John Wendling is a valuable special teams player.

Special teams

The Lions may have a camp battle for the kicking spot.

Jason Hanson is coming off surgery the last two seasons. Although he is the incumbent, and coach Jim Schwartz said Monday his confidence hasn’t wavered, Dave Rayner has earned at least the right to compete.

Coaching staff

All the coaches are under contract and expected back.

Offensive coordinator Scott Linehan ‘s name may come up regarding coaching vacancies, but he has said numerous times he is content with his role in Detroit.