The Detroit Lions are seriously feeling the hit to their secondary, elevating defensive back Jalen Mills from the practice squad to the active roster for the second week in a row ahead of their “Sunday Night Football” showdown against the Carolina Panthers. This is becoming a familiar move for the 2-1 Lions, who are grappling with a defensive backfield that looks absolutely decimated.
Mills Gets The Call (Again)
This isn’t Mills’ first rodeo with the Lions, or even his first elevation this season. The 32-year-old was available for Detroit’s Week 3 matchup against the New York Jets after being signed to the practice squad on September 21. Last season, the Lions claimed Mills off waivers on December 10, and he ended up playing in three games with them, logging 65 defensive snaps and 12 special teams snaps. Talk about a journeyman, right? Mills, a former seventh-round pick out of LSU by the Eagles in 2016, has built quite the career. He’s played in 122 games, starting 92 of them, racking up 460 tackles, 60 passes defended, 10 tackles for loss, eight interceptions (one returned for a touchdown!), seven quarterback hits, three forced fumbles, 1.5 sacks, and one fumble recovery. This guy has been around the block, with stints in Philly, New England, New York with the Jets, Houston, and now Detroit. They’re certainly leaning on that experience right now.
The Secondary Is In Absolute Crisis
Look, when you’re elevating the same guy from the practice squad two weeks in a row, it tells you everything you need to know about the injury situation. The Lions are in dire straits in their defensive backfield. It started when defensive back Avonte Maddox went down with a season-ending foot injury, prompting them to ink Mills initially. Then safety Thomas Harper got placed on injured reserve. But it doesn’t stop there. Both starting safeties, Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch, are sidelined. Joseph is dealing with a degenerative condition in his knee, and Branch is recovering from a torn Achilles. That’s *two* starters and *two more* key contributors out. It’s an absolute nightmare scenario for any defensive coordinator, and it makes Mills’ presence, even on a week-to-week basis, absolutely critical.
Tonight, all eyes will be on how the Lions’ patchwork secondary holds up against the 1-2 Panthers. With their starting safeties out and other DBs sidelined, Mills and the rest of the crew are going to have to step up big time if Detroit wants to maintain their winning record. It’s going to be a tough battle, and we’ll see if they can weather this injury storm.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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