Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell isn’t messing around anymore, telling us Wednesday that two defenders are about to see a whole lot more playing time this week against the Arizona Cardinals. Campbell has been talking all week about tweaking their defense to pull out of their current rut, and now he’s pulled back the curtain a bit on some real personnel changes. Keith Abney and Jalen Mills are the guys Campbell sees taking on bigger roles. He said, “I think (Keith) Abney will probably help us out a little bit more here this week. So, will (Jalen) Mills. I can see both those guys taking on a bigger role.”
Abney’s Shot: From Fifth-Round Pick to Front and Center?
This is wild for Abney. The dude was a fifth-round pick this year and has barely seen the field, with only 25 defensive snaps all season, all of them in the season opener. Back in training camp, he was pretty deep on the depth chart at nickel, sitting comfortably behind Roger McCreary and Christian Izien. But injuries, man, they change everything. Detroit’s secondary has seen some serious shakeups. Izien got bumped to safety because Avonte Maddox and Thomas Harper are hurt. And McCreary is now getting more looks at outside cornerback after the Lions benched Rock Ya-Sin a couple weeks ago.
If Abney steps up at nickel, it totally changes the game for the rest of the cornerback room. Coach Campbell has also hinted at giving Ennis Rakestraw more opportunities after he’s shown out in a couple situational roles recently. So, what’s the plan? Does McCreary get benched for Rakestraw? Or are we talking about benching D.J. Reed, rolling with Rakestraw and McCreary on the outside, and Abney holding down the nickel spot? Or maybe, just maybe, it’s a few situational plays for Abney and that’s it. We’ll find out Sunday.
Mills Steps Up While Branch Works Off Rust
Then there’s Jalen Mills. The team just signed this veteran safety two weeks ago, basically as a direct response to all the injuries at the safety position. He only got four snaps late in that tough loss to the Panthers, splitting time between box safety and nickel. But now, he could be taking reps from Christian Izien, who’s been struggling a bit against both the run and the pass. Mills could also be part of that whole nickel conversation.
And hey, there’s even an outside chance Pro Bowl safety Brian Branch could play on Sunday. He just returned to practice Wednesday after an Achilles tear, which is huge news. But Campbell was quick to say Branch needs time to knock off the rust. Usually, Detroit gives players coming off a long-term injury a couple weeks of practice before throwing them back into the fire. So while it’s good to see him back, we probably won’t see him tearing it up just yet.
Bottom line, we’re gonna have to wait until Sunday against the Cardinals to see exactly how this Lions secondary looks. But one thing’s for sure: it promises to be a significantly different lineup than what we’ve seen in the past few weeks. This could be the spark this defense needs to get out of that rut. Let’s GO!
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.
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