Lions will be down six key players in Washington, including Matthew Stafford

Justin Rogers
The Detroit News

Allen Park — The Detroit Lions will be without six players, all key contributors, for Sunday's game in Washington. That group includes quarterback Matthew Stafford, who will miss his third straight contest with a back injury. 

In addition to Stafford, the Lions also ruled out defensive linemen Trey Flowers and Da'Shawn Hand, center Frank Ragnow, safety Tracy Walker and return man Jamal Agnew. 

Matthew Stafford

Hand will also be missing his third straight game, and ninth on the season overall. After sitting the first six games with an elbow injury, he's recently been shut down by an ankle sprain. Walker, meanwhile, will miss his third contest in four weeks with a knee injury. 

Ragnow and Flowers both remain in protocol after suffering concussions last week against Dallas, while Agnew also exited that game with an ankle injury. 

The only other player listed on Detroit's injury report is cornerback Rashaan Melvin. He popped up on Friday's practice report with a rib injury and is listed as questionable. 

The Lions do have an open roster spot heading into the game. It's expected they'll promote someone off the practice squad on Saturday, possibly tight end Isaac Nauta to fill in at fullback after Nick Bawden landed on injured reserve earlier this week. 

"We’ll go through practice today and kind of figure out what is the best situation for us for the game," Lions coach Matt Patricia said Friday morning. "I would say there are a lot of factors that are kind of involved right now. Maybe some of the guys that we’re not sure whether or not we can have up for the game, in addition to special teams roles, those will be a big part of the conversation after we get through practice today."