James Houston headlines the Detroit Lions Week 6 inactives list. Full inventory of inactive players here:
The Detroit Lions have declared their inactives ahead of the Week 6 matchup with the Dallas Cowboys, and with a fully healthy roster, selecting who will and won’t play is based solely on the game plan.
When the Lions placed Ifeatu Melifonwu on injured reserve ahead of their Week 4 game, it reduced their roster to 52 players. And while Detroit elected not to fill that spot on the active roster, the Lions did elevate rookie UDFA edge rusher Isaac Ukwu from the practice squad, bringing their game-day roster up to 53 players.
With the elevation of Ukwu, the Lions will make James Houston a healthy scratch. Houston had a golden opportunity to show he had returned to form in Week 4, but on 14 snaps, he only managed one pressure and was flagged for two penalties. Ukwu appeared to be neck-and-neck with Houston for a roster spot during training camp, and if the rookie can show the staff he can give them more than what Houston currently is, we could see some roster changes in the near future.
Because the Lions have eight offensive linemen active for Sunday’s game, they are eligible to expand their game-day roster from 47 to 48 players. Therefore, with 53 players on the game-day roster and 48 eligible to play, the Lions need to declare just five players inactive for today’s matchup.
Lions inactives:
- WR Isaiah Williams
- LT Giovanni Manu
- RT Colby Sorsdal
- EDGE James Houston
- S Loren Strickland
Cowboys inactives:
- QB Trey Lance
- RB Deuce Vaughn
- TE John Stephens
- OT Matt Waletzko
- EDGE Micah Parsons (ankle) — ruled out Friday
- LB Eric Kendricks (calf/shoulder) — ruled out Friday
- CB Caelen Carson (shoulder)
