The Detroit Lions’ injury woes at safety continue to worsen, as they announced Saturday that they placed safety Thomas Harper on injured reserve. Additionally, the Lions announced the elevation of two defensive players for their Week 3 game against the New York Jets, giving the unit more depth for the game.
Harper finished the Lions game against the Bills in Week 2, but suffered an ankle injury that required a walking boot. When practices began on Wednesday, Harper still needed the walking boot for
support, but told Detroit News’ Rich Silva that he was “just trying to stay off of it” and that it “shouldn’t be (a) long-term” injury. Things were apparently more significant than Harper anticipated because he couldn’t practice the rest of the week, was ruled out for Week 3 on Friday, and was placed on IR on Saturday. Harper will be required to miss the next four weeks and will not be eligible to return to the roster until Week 7, at the earliest.
Avonte Maddox was also placed on injured reserve this week—his injury will require surgery and is season-ending—and Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph remain on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, meaning that the Lions are now down four of their top five options at safety.
So what’s the plan moving forward?
For Week 3, the Lions will shift Christian Izen from his starting nickel role to a starting safety role, lining up opposite veteran Chuck Clark.
“Izzy’s been working a lot back there and had a full week. And he’s gotten a ton of work and this week a ton of reps, full-speed reps,” Campbell said on Friday. “‘This is what you’re going to do, these are the calls,’ and just dousing him with full-speed reps, and he’s done a good job this week. […] Izzy’s going to be a huge part for us.”
As for their reserve roles, the Lions have three potential options, the most immediate being the game elevation of veteran safety Jalen Mills. Earlier this week, Mills re-signed with the Lions’ practice squad to bolster the team’s depth at safety. Mills is entering his 11th season in the NFL and spent time on the Lions roster late last season, playing in three games down the stretch. His familiarity with the defensive coverage scheme should help him get up to speed quickly and provide an immediate role against the Jets in Week 3.
The Lions’ next option is rookie corner Keith Abney, who was getting “sprinkles back there a little bit as a reserve,” according to Campbell. While he’s primarily played nickel in Detroit, Abney has the intelligence and ability to work at safety in a pinch.
“For a rookie, he’s a pretty dang smart, conscientious, aware football player that’s got a ton of room to really take off,” Campbell said of Abney on Friday. “So, that’s a good sign. […] He just needs reps and reps. But if we need it, that’ll be a guy who may have to go in for us.”
Lastly, the Lions also poached rookie Bishop Fitzgerald off the Steelers’ practice squad earlier in the week, and while he’s surely not versed enough in the playbook to get meaningful snaps right now, he’ll be an option in their safety depth moving forward. Fitzgerald is an ideal free safety in the Lions scheme because he can ballhawk from center field and be a willing tackler in run support. He’ll need time to acclimate, but he has plus developmental upside.
In addition to Mills, the Lions also elevated linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga from the practice squad for this game. With rookie linebacker Jimmy Rolder slowly returning from a hamstring injury and Joe Bachie recently released from the active roster, Ogbongbemiga will provide the Lions with LB6 depth and a role on multiple phases of special teams.
