The Detroit Lions just announced they are elevating safety Jalen Mills for their Sunday night clash against the Carolina Panthers in Week 4. This is the second straight week Mills has been called up from the practice squad, and it really shows you the absolute mess the Lions are dealing with in their secondary right now.
Safety Depth Is A Nightmare For Detroit
Seriously, it is brutal out there for the Lions’ safety room. Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph are still stuck on the physically unable to perform list, which is a huge blow. Then, to make things even worse, Avonte Maddox and Thomas Harper just landed on injured reserve this past week. That is *four* safeties, crucial players, all sidelined! No wonder they are scrambling to find experienced bodies. The secondary has been a problem, no doubt, struggling hard through the first three weeks of the season, and this injury crisis is making things incredibly tough to fix.
Mills Steps Up While Branch Looms
So, with all those injuries, Mills is back in the mix. He rejoins starters Chuck Clark and Christian Izien, who actually played pretty well last week against the Jets. But let’s be real, the Lions’ secondary still needs some major stability, and Mills, with his 122 games and 92 starts, brings a ton of experience. He rejoined the practice squad before Week 3, so he’s been around. The good news, the *only* real good news right now, is that Branch’s return looks like it is right around the corner. Coach Dan Campbell sounds ready for him too: “He’s close. Yep, he’s close,” Campbell said earlier this week. “He’s ready to go. [I’m] tired of listening to him. So, I mean that in a good way. Man, he’s put in a ton of work, and he looks really good. He’s close.” You can tell Campbell is itching to get him back on the field.
The Lions need all the help they can get for their defense. They are playing the Panthers on Sunday night, and with the secondary struggling this much, every play is going to be under the microscope. Let’s see if Mills can bring some much-needed veteran presence and if Branch can truly be back on the field soon to turn things around. It’s going to be a wild one.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Pride of Detroit.
Leave a Reply