Shaun O'Hara does some drills, feeling better

Mathias Kiwanuka wasn’t the only one to return to the practice field today. Shaun O’Hara was also out there working for the first time since the Week 2 loss to the Colts. He’d been shut down since then with an ankle/Achilles injury that has been hard to diagnose. Last week O’Hara sounded confident that they had recognized the actual problem – bursitis – and were treating it and he even tried to run on it last Tuesday.

That did not go well. But a week later, O’Hara gave it another go and today he was able to come through the practice – limited though he was – feeling good.

“It felt better today than it did last week,” the center said. “Everything I did today, nothing was really too painful. That’s what we’re hoping happens tomorrow. Hoping that it stays the same.”

If it does, the plan is to have O’Hara participate more fully in practice.

He said he did not actually run, but then again he doesn’t have to run on the field.

“I’m not doing any sprints,” he said. “Luckily they’re not making me do the conditioning test. I feel pretty comfortable that I can do all of the things I can do within my offensive line box.”

And he even thinks there’s a chance he can play on Sunday against the Lions.

“I hope so, otherwise what the hell am I doing out here?” he said. “It’s taken longer than I would have liked, so I’m pushing.”