As expected, the Detroit Lions activated safety Brian Branch from the Physically Unable to Perform list and Cade Mays from injured reserve on Saturday. The moves make both players eligible to play Sunday against the Green Bay Packers, and the Lions have indicated both will have significant roles this week. The questionable designation has been removed from their status designations, as well.
For Branch, it’s his first game action since suffering a torn Achilles in early December. The Lions’ defense
has struggled immensely without him on the field, particularly in the secondary. Earlier in the week, Lions coach Dan Campbell expressed how much of a difference he can make out there.
“Here’s what’s great about getting BB back: BB gives you the flexibility—what do you want to do with anybody else?” Campbell said. “Because there are things you’re going to want to do with BB high, let him play top-down, and then there are things you want him to play underneath. And that doesn’t require somebody else playing off of him necessarily. He’ll make it right.”
It’s unclear how much Branch will play against the Packers, but Campbell indicated Friday that they are going to “let him go here and we’ll be smart.”
As for Mays, he’ll make his Lions debut on Sunday after the team acquired him on a three-year, $25 million free-agent deal. Mays broke his wrist in training camp, forcing Detroit to rely on Juice Scruggs to be their starting center for the first five games. While Scruggs played well, Campbell indicated that they plan on putting Mays back in the lineup this week.
“We really worked the heck out of Cade yesterday. He got some quality reps, and we would like to give him a go here,” Campbell said Wednesday. “… We’d like to just rip this Band-Aid off of Cade. I thought he had some good work yesterday. I thought he looked pretty good.”
The Lions did not make any additional moves on Saturday, meaning there are no elevations from the practice squad this week.
