The Detroit Lions have declared their inactives ahead of the Week 7 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens, and a last-minute injury to one of their starters has complicated things.
The Lions entered the week with a full 53-man roster and made a few roster moves ahead of this game. They made four roster moves ahead of this game, activating Josh Paschal from injured reserve, releasing tight Darrell Daniels in a corresponding move, and elevating running backs Devine Ozigbo and Mohamed Ibrahim from the practice squad for this game.
In the end, these moves bring the Lions game-day roster total up to 55 players.
Because the Lions have eight offensive linemen active for Sunday’s game, they are eligible to expand their game-day eligibility roster from 47 to 48 players. Therefore, with 55 players on the game-day roster and 48 eligible to play, the Lions need to declare seven players inactive for today’s matchup.
Lions inactives:
- CB Jerry Jacobs (knee) — added to the injury report on Saturday
- EDGE Charles Harris
- RB David Montgomery (ribs) — ruled out on Friday
- WR Marvin Jones Jr. (personal) — ruled OUT on Saturday
- LG Jonah Jackson (ankle) — ruled out on Friday
- DT Levi Onwuzurike
- DT Brodric Martin
Jacobs “landed on his left knee after taking a tumble during practice,” according to Detroit News’ Justin Rogers, and was added to the injury list with a questionable designation. After testing his potential limits during pre-game warm-ups on Sunday, it was determined he would be unable to play and was ruled inactive.
With Emmanuel Moseley on injured reserve, it’s not entirely clear who will be Jacobs’ replacement. Will Harris has experience working on the outside but is much more suited to play in the slot, where he has started each of the last two games. Khalil Dorsey returned from injured reserve last week but has limited experience on defense. UDFA rookie Stephen Gilmore also has limited experience, mostly playing on special teams during the weeks he has been active.
Harris being inactive is a bit of a surprise. Yes, Josh Paschal has returned and is expected to be a significant contributor, but Harris was expected to be ahead of both Romeo and Julian Okwara on the depth chart. The Lions are deep on the edge and will often side with players who have the best practices leading up to the game, so it’s possible Harris had an off week, or maybe the matchup is bad, or he may have fallen out of favor with the coaches.
Montgomery is expected to miss some time and the Lions will turn to Jahmyr Gibbs to carry the load, along with Craig Reynolds as his direct backup. Both are dealing with hamstring injuries but they are not expected to be limited. Practice squaders Devine Ozigbo and Mohamed Ibrahim were called up as insurance and for their special teams contributions.
Jones has been excused from this game so that he can deal with a personal issue. No update on that has been given at this time.
Jackson will miss his second game in a row and is once again expected to be replaced by Kayode Awosika at left guard. Halapoulivaati Vaitai, Colby Sorsdal, and Dan Skipper are also available if needed.
Onwuzurike is once again a healthy scratch as the Lions are opting for lighter, faster athletes along the defensive line.
Martin is once again a healthy scratch as the depth above him remains healthy and he works on his technical performance.
Ravens inactives:
- CB Kevon Seymour (ankle) — ruled out on Friday
- S Marcus Williams (hamstring) — ruled out on Friday
- LB Jeremiah Moon
- C Sam Mustipher
- G Sala Aumavae-Laulu
- QB Josh Johnson (emergency QB)