Lions rule out Ezekiel Ansah, but will have full offensive lineup for first time

Lions defensive end Ezekiel Ansah will miss another game due to injury. When will the slide end?(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)

ALLEN PARK -- Taylor Decker is a full go Sunday against Chicago, and so is T.J. Lang. And so is Kenny Golladay, for that matter.

With only running back Dwayne Washington out, the Detroit Lions will have their entire offensive starting lineup available to them for the first time against the Bears.

That's the good news.

The bad news: While the offense is getting healthy, the defense will remain without one of its biggest guns. Ezekiel Ansah has been officially ruled out for the second straight week because of a back injury, and there's no telling what the future holds for him.

Ansah has now missed five games the last two years, and has rarely looked like himself when he has been on the field. He has a piece of a sack in just two of Detroit's last 26 games (and six overall). That's down from 15 in the previous 26 games (and 18.5 overall).

He has just six total sacks the last two years overall, and has fallen outside the top 50 edge players in the game according to ProFootballFocus.

The Lions have not sounded any alarms, although there are growing concerns about how -- of if -- he fits into the club's long term plans. He's playing out a contract year, and Bob Quinn will be wary of handing serious long-term money to a player who has battled ankle, knee, shoulder and now back issues.

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