The Lions have a new, young safety, but their secondary continues to be threatened by injury and illness.
The Detroit Lions made a flurry of moves in the secondary on Monday as a result of injury and illness. As expected, the team placed cornerback Jerry Jacobs on injured reserve, ending his 2021 rookie season. To replace his spot on the roster, the Lions claimed safety Brady Breeze from waivers.
Breeze was a sixth-round pick this year by the Tennessee Titans after playing for three years at Oregon (he started in 2019 and opted out in 2020). Breeze is an intelligent player who finds success with his instincts rather than his athleticism, but his best asset is his competitiveness (similar attributes to Jalen Elliott). He made five game appearances for the Titans this year, all exclusively on special teams. He’ll help the Lions with depth at the safety position with both Tracy Walker and Bobby Price (who also plays cornerback) currently on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
Speaking of the reserve/COVID-19 list, the Lions placed yet another player on the list on Monday. Practice Squad cornerback Corey Ballentine became the Lions’ eighth player since last Monday to be placed on the list. Ballentine was elevated to the active roster for Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos and played 14 special teams snaps.
Lions players spent Monday away from the facility in the hopes of slowing the spread of COVID and the flu throughout the team.
“We’re just trying to be as smart as we can, as diligent as we can be about this whole thing,” Dan Campbell said on Monday. “Even if it means maybe we save one player from exposure to somebody else, we’re doing it.”
The Lions now find themselves extremely shorthanded at the cornerback position, as COVID and injuries continue to ravage through that room. Currently, Price, Ballentine, Ifeatu Melifonwu, and Mark Gilbert remain on the list, while Jacobs, Jeff Okudah, and AJ Parker are on injured reserve.
As of Monday, here are the eight Lions players who are on the reserve/COVID-19 list
- C Evan Brown
- S/CB Bobby Price
- S Tracy Walker
- RB Jamaal Williams
- CB Ifeatu Melifonwu
- CB Mark Gilbert
- LB Tavante Beckett (practice squad)
- CB Corey Ballentine (practice squad)
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