ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Corey Hilliard stood at his locker and at one point, chuckled at all of the questions.

The gist of all of them centered around his right knee, the knee he injured in the fourth quarter Sunday in a 27-24 loss to Cincinnati. The knee that might end up leaving the Lions shorthanded at offensive tackle this week against Dallas.

“I feel all right,” Hilliard said.

He couldn’t say whether or not he’ll play this weekend. Or if he’ll practice Wednesday. He wouldn’t give percentages on the chances he faces the Cowboys. About the only information he would give is that he did have his MRI and that it provided some good news.

“Yep,” Hilliard said. “If you guys want to know more, you’ll obviously have to talk to [Detroit coach] Jim Schwartz.”

Hilliard said he wasn’t sure if it was guard Larry Warford or Cincinnati defensive lineman Geno Atkins who fell on the back of his leg, but that initially he was in pain. He also explained he doesn’t wear knee braces because a similar thing happened to him in college at Oklahoma State and it didn’t make a difference.

Once Hilliard reached the sidelines, he realized it might not be as bad as it initially looked.

“After I sat on the sidelines, I kind of knew that it wasn’t as serious as I thought it might have been,” Hilliard said. “That was a good thing.”

To help bolster numbers on the offensive line, Detroit signed tackle Barry Richardson, who started 16 games last season with St. Louis, on Tuesday.