During an episode of the Netflix show *Receiver*, Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown revealed the extent of the injuries he endured last season. Previously known was a toe issue, and he was a late addition to the Week 8 injury report with an illness that turned out to be hand, foot, and mouth disease.
St. Brown discussed the toe injury from Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks and mentioned playing with a new injury during a short week before facing the Green Bay Packers on Thursday Night Football in Week 4 (h/t Pride of Detroit).
“I’ve had a hip pointer before, so I thought it was a hip pointer,” St. Brown said. “And I’m like, ‘Damn, my toe’s still hurting at this point. Now I have this oblique injury.’ It’s too late for me not to play. The game plan’s in. Painkillers are something that I really don’t like to take unless… unless it’s the Packers.”
St. Brown missed Week 5 against the Carolina Panthers due to the left oblique issue, which an MRI revealed to be a complete muscle tear.
### Lions Could Face Scrutiny Over St. Brown’s Injury Situation
The NFL takes injury reporting rules seriously, and the rise of gambling adds extra importance to full disclosure of injuries. St. Brown was not listed on the injury report heading into Week 4 against Green Bay, yet he played 66 snaps (an 88 percent snap share) and recorded five receptions for 56 yards and a touchdown, despite slightly lower yardage than usual.
According to FoxSports.com, the over-under on St. Brown’s yardage that week was 72.5. Knowledge of the oblique injury could have influenced bettors to take the under.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk noted that editing the episode of *Receiver* could have excluded the fact that St. Brown sustained his oblique injury in Week 3 against the Atlanta Falcons. The overall narrative of his struggles last season would remain intact without this detail.
However, the reveal remains public. The question now is whether the NFL will take action against the Lions for concealing an injury to a key player during a short week. There is a precedent for fining teams for withholding injury information, as seen with the Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger in 2019.
This incident underscores the unreliability of NFL injury reports. Even fines may not deter teams from hiding injuries if they believe it benefits them.