The Detroit Lions ruled out five starters on Friday and made a series of roster moves on Saturday to adapt their roster. In addition to moving Jack Campbell to injured reserve and signing Nick Whiteside to the active roster, the Lions also elevated two practice squad members to the game-day roster: EDGE Anthony Lucas and RB Jabari Small.
All three roster additions are direct injury replacements. Whiteside will give the Lions depth at corner while D.J. Reed recovers from a hip injury; Lucas will help
soften the absence of DJ Wonnum, who is in the NFL’s concussion protocol, and Small gives the Lions depth at running back with both Sione Vaki (ankle) and Jacob Saylors (neck) being listed as questionable.
On Friday, when coach Dan Campbell was asked about potential replacements for Wonnum in this game, noting that Derrick Moore, Ahmed Hassanein, and Eric O’Neill were already on the roster, Campbell also made sure to mention Lucas as a player firmly in the mix:
“Well, I think another guy is Anthony Lucas is somebody we’ve been repping a little bit here for whoever that defensive line, that extra spot there for Wonnum. So I mentioned this before, Brad (Holmes) has done a good job with the depth that we’ve got. And so we’ll be able to weather the storm, and those guys are going to get an opportunity, and adversity hits with injuries.”
Small’s addition gives the Lions backfield depth and raises questions about either Vaki or Saylors’ status. Vaki was a late addition to Friday’s injury report, and mid-week additions typically signal bad news for players’ chances of playing Sunday, though listing him as questionable gives him a chance to play. Saylors has been dealing with a neck injury for the last two weeks and couldn’t finish the game against the Vikings in Week 8, but with him also getting a questionable designation keeps him in play to contribute against the Dolphins.
It’s worth noting that neither Vaki nor Saylors have been downgraded to OUT so far, which is typically an indication that they’ve traveled with the team to Miami. We are most likely headed to a game-time decision on both running backs.
