Eric Ebron

Eric Ebron missed practice Monday morning. That's the bad news. The good news: His injury appears to be a lot less severe than originally believed.

Ebron attended Lions practice, and did so without crutches, a boot, or any other kind of obvious walking aid on the right leg that he injured during Saturday's mock game at Ford Field.

The tight end had to be carted to the locker room after crumpling to the ground while run blocking in the fourth quarter. He was clutching at the back of his right leg, which suggested it could be an Achilles injury, and NFL Network reported shortly thereafter that the injury was precisely that.

That cast serious doubt of Ebron's season. A rupture or tear would have ended his season, and even something less severe could have endangered his availability for the season opener on Sept. 11 against Indianapolis.

The story said Ebron was walking fine at practice, only slightly favoring the right leg. He had a long chat with coach Jim Caldwell, and later went through his steps during a blocking drill. The report said Caldwell will speak to reporters after practice, at which point more could be known. But at this point, Ebron seems to have side-stepped the worst fears about his injury. With Ebron and Brandon Pettigrew sidelined, rookie Cole Wick operated as the team's top pass-catching tight end.