Detroit Lions make a surprising lack of roster moves for Seahawks game

In a mildly surprising move, the Detroit Lions are not elevating anyone from the practice squad for the Seahawks game.

A few years back, the NFL started allowing teams to elevate two players from the practice squad on game day, temporarily increasing teams’ rosters to 55 players to choose from for each contest.

For seemingly every game since, the Detroit Lions have taken advantage of this rule, elevating a player or two from the practice squad to give them depth a certain position or afford a practice squad player a chance to make an impact on game day.

However, for the Monday night contest against the Seattle Seahawks, the Lions have chosen not to elevate a single player from the practice squad, per a team source. They will go into Monday with their 52-man roster as is. Ifeatu Melifonwu’s spot on the roster, after he was placed on injured reserve on Saturday, remains vacant.

It’s a mildly surprising move considering all of the team’s currently injuries. With no Frank Ragnow, the Lions are shorthanded at center. Graham Glasgow is expected to take his spot. After Glasgow, they don’t have a clear center option, although Michael Niese got plenty of reps there in training camp.

Detroit could be similarly shorthanded at safety this week. Not only is Melifonwu going to miss the next four games after being placed on injured reserve this week, but Brian Branch is doubtful to play after being downgraded on Sunday due to an unspecified illness. That leaves just Kerby Joseph, Brandon Joseph, and undrafted rookie Loren Strickland available.

It’s possible the lack of moves is a positive sign for Branch, but there may not be a viable safety option on the practice squad, either. Erick Hallett was added just a month ago, while Morice Norris was only recently re-signed after being waived/injured in early August.

The last aspect of the roster that is going through some injuries is the defensive front. Last week, the Lions placed both defensive end Marcus Davenport and SAM linebacker Derrick Barnes on injured reserve. But with Josh Paschal to replace Davenport and Detroit’s deep bench of linebackers to pitch in for Barnes’ role, there wasn’t a clear need to tap the practice squad for reinforcements.