On Monday, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell offered an update on the team’s injured starting cornerbacks D.J. Reed and Terrion Arnold. All things considered, the news was good. Reed, who had to be carted off with what looked like a serious hamstring injury, is expected to miss “a while,” but his injury is not season-ending. It sounds like he’ll miss right around four or five games based on Campbell noting they aren’t sure whether he’ll go on injured reserve or not. Arnold has a chance of playing this week with his shoulder injury, but even if he does miss the game against the Bengals, Campbell said he expects Arnold to play the following week.
While that is good news in the long term, it does leave the Lions pretty shorthanded this week. If Arnold can’t go, that means Detroit only has Amik Robertson, Rock Ya-Sin, Khalil Dorsey, and Avonte Maddox available at the cornerback position against the Bengals. Detroit does have Erick Hallett available on the practice squad, but that is a perilously thin group of cornerbacks, and a scary proposition going against the likes of Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins on Sunday.
So today’s Question of the Day is:
What should the Lions do at cornerback right now?
My answer: Let me start by saying what the Lions should not do. They shouldn’t go out and panic trade for someone. I know Tariq Woolen is supposedly on the trading block, and someone like Browns cornerback Greg Newsome seems like a good fit. But Detroit’s cornerback problem is only temporary—and whether you agree or not, they still believe in Terrion Arnold. Woolen is the right price with a cheap final rookie deal on the table, but he’s not a very good schematic fit with his lack of run support and high percentage of zone coverage. Newsome is a much better schematic fit, but he’s on an expensive fifth-year option ($13.4 million salary), and Detroit almost certainly isn’t willing to pay that. So, unless Cleveland is willing to eat some of that, that seems like an unlikely option.
Instead, I think the Lions are probably going to underwhelm most fans with what they are going to do. Without a doubt, they need some extra bodies, but when Campbell talked about it, he hinted that it may simply be a practice body.
“I think we would look for somebody for help. I haven’t talked to (general manager) Brad (Holmes) yet about all of this, so we will discuss this, but we may need somebody for help for practice at a minimum,” Campbell said.
There are a few intriguing free agent cornerbacks out there that could step in and help right away. Veterans Stephon Gilmore and Asante Samuel Jr. are out there, but Gilmore is 35 years old, and Samuel Jr. is recovering from neck surgery in April, and it doesn’t appear he’s ready to sign with a team yet, given he’s scheduled for a CT scan in October to check in on the spinal fusion. They could call back Emmanuel Moseley, but that ship seems to have certainly sailed.
What is most likely is a low-key signing off a practice squad or a lesser-known name to give Detroit an extra player to help round out the roster. I think it’s very possible—if not probable—Detroit goes into Cincinnati this week with Amik Robertson and Rock Ya-Sin as their starting corners with Avonte Maddox as their top nickel option.
What do you want to see the Lions do at cornerback? Share your thoughts in the comment section at the bottom of the page.
