Before their playoff debut, the Detroit Lions place two players on injured reserve.
ALLEN PARK — One day before the Detroit Lions take on the Los Angeles Rams in the postseason, the team placed tight end James Mitchell and cornerback Jerry Jacobs on injured reserve. Detroit has added tight end Anthony Firkser and cornerback Chase Lucas to the 53-man roster in a matching move.
When playing against Los Angeles, the loss of Mitchell might be particularly felt. Prodigious rookie tight end Sam LaPorta is listed as questionable against Los Angeles as he recovers from a hyperextended left knee and a bone bruise. He might not be able to handle his usual workload even if he is cleared to play. Thus, the resources at that position are further depleted by losing a backup at this time.
Brock Wright is still Detroit’s tight end, and the team has also signed Firkser off the practice squad. The former Harvard star has played in 71 games in his six-year career, and caught 115 passes for 1,207 yards and five touchdowns. This season, he has made two appearances for Detroit, logging two offensive snaps and another 22 on special teams.
Conversely, Jacobs’ difficult season has encountered yet another setback. He was benched in the second half of the season after struggling at cornerback, and this week he added a knee injury to his list of ailments. He also battled a thigh injury. Now is the end of his season.
After relegating Jacobs to a special teams role in recent weeks, Detroit signed Lucas back, who had contributed 230 special teams snaps this season before being cut last week to make room for Ceedy Duce and Alim McNeill to return.
Additionally, Detroit is temporarily promoting fullback Jason Cabinda and veteran defensive tackle Tyson Alualu from the practice squad. This season, Alualu, a 14-year veteran, will be playing for the Lions for the third time. In the last two regular season games, he played 67 defensive reps. Now he has no more elevations.
A knee injury kept Cabina out of action for a while, but last week he was back in action.
