Time running out for Jason Fox to get healthy, show his stuff

There's an old saying in professional sports, and it certainly applies to offensive tackle Jason Fox.

"It's not just ability, it's availability," coach Jim Schwartz said. "It's an old cliché, but it's true in situations like that."

Fox, a fourth-round pick out of Miami (Fla.) in 2010, is entering the final year of his rookie contract and doesn't have much to show for his first two years with the Lions.

Fox's time in Detroit has amounted to four games. He missed most of his rookie season while recovering from knee surgery in college. He suffered a foot injury early in training camp last year and then had season-ending knee surgery in November. Recovering from that surgery forced Fox to miss the Lions' three-day minicamp last week.

"It's all about reps for him because when he's been healthy he's played well, he's done well in practice," Schwartz said. "But he hasn't had consistent streaks of being healthy.

"This off-season was good for him. Up until last week, when he started getting sore, he was doing very well. ... Maybe if we shut him down (in minicamp) we don't have this issue come up in training camp. He needs to put some time together where he's injury-free, from an evaluation standpoint, and proven that he can stay healthy over the long term."


(freep.com)