ALLEN PARK -- DeAndre Levy is unlikely to play Sunday against Jacksonville.
Not after missing 23 of the Detroit Lions' last 25 games. Not after missing the last two-plus months of practice.
But he did make a limited appearance at practice on Wednesday -- "He did OK," coach Jim Caldwell said -- and he was back out there Thursday, working his way through individual drills with the other linebackers during the 20 minutes that were open to the media.
So Levy is nearing a return, perhaps as soon as next week's Thanksgiving matchup against Minnesota. And when he does return, the Lions expect him to be the DeAndre Levy of old, despite losing so much of the last two years to injury.