HEADLINES

Detroit Lions News & Rumors

Lions Activate WR DJ Chark From IR

November 19th, 2022 at 3:21pm CST by Sam Robinson

After suffering an early-season injury for the second straight year, DJ Chark will be have a chance to re-establish some value down the stretch. The Lions used one of their injury activations on the veteran wide receiver Saturday.

Chark ran into more ankle trouble this season. After suffering a broken ankle four games into the 2021 slate, the former second-round pick injured the same ankle in Week 3. The Lions waited a bit to place Chark on IR but ended up doing so. Chark, 26, has missed the past six games.

The Lions gave Chark a one-year, $10MM deal (fully guaranteed) to sign in March, adding him to a receiver group now centered around Amon-Ra St. Brown. The Lions have not had the chance to use their optimal receiving corps — one featuring St. Brown, Chark and Jameson Williams — due to their No. 12 overall pick still recovering from an ACL tear sustained in the national championship game. Detroit is aiming for Williams to begin practicing after Thanksgiving, but it is not certain at this point if the Alabama product will play this season.

Chark is the only Jaguars receiver to surpass 1,000 yards in the past six seasons, totaling 1,008 yards alongside Gardner Minshew in 2019. He posted 706 yards for a worse Jags squad in 2020 and did not see much action during the franchise’s Urban Meyer season due to the injury. This season, the LSU product has seven catches for 98 yards and a touchdown.

This upcoming stretch will be pivotal for Chark’s post-2022 value. The ankle fracture he suffered last year led to a reduced free agency market. The 6-foot-4 pass catcher will need to show he can stay healthy in order to create a decent market for himself next year. The 2023 free agent receiver class is not especially strong; Chark could be a key factor on next year’s market if he can fare well in the second half of his Lions campaign.

Lions Designate Romeo Okwara, DJ Chark For Return, Aiming For Late-Season Jameson Williams Look

November 16th, 2022 at 12:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

Coming off their second straight win, the Lions made some notable transactions Wednesday. They designated Romeo Okwara and DJ Chark for return.

In his third season with Detroit, Okwara has been on the team’s reserve/PUP list all season. He has been recovering from a torn Achilles for more than 13 months. Chark has been out since Week 3. The free agency pickup his now missed 19 games over the past two seasons.

While Chark returning stands to bolster a Lions attack that has seen its top skill-position players either miss time (Amon-Ra St. Brown, D’Andre Swift) or be traded (T.J. Hockenson), the Lions’ plans with Jameson Williams take big-picture precedence. Still sidelined from the ACL tear he suffered in last season’s national championship game, Williams remains in the picture for this season’s Lions. The team is hoping for Williams to return to practice after Thanksgiving, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press tweets.

It would be a nice bonus for the rebuilding Lions to have Williams see game action this season, but that may not be a guarantee. The team has been cautious with the first-round pick. Previous reports indicated a midseason return to practice was in play, but the franchise has pushed back the timetable. Considering the current team’s status and Williams’ long-term importance to the organization, it is unsurprising his rehab run is approaching the 11-month mark.

The Lions having a St. Brown-Chark-Williams trio together for this season’s final games would represent a nice evaluation window for the future. St. Brown and Williams will almost certainly be 2023 Lions starters. It is unclear if Chark will be in the team’s post-2022 plans. The former Jaguars second-rounder, who signed a one-year deal worth $10MM in March, missed almost all of last season with a broken ankle. An injury to that same ankle has shelved Chark this year. After initially leaving him on their 53-man roster, the Lions moved Chark to IR. He has seven catches for 98 yards and a touchdown in his Detroit debut.

Okwara, 27, remains attached to the three-year, $37MM deal he signed in 2021. The Lions have rostered the elder Okwara since 2018, when they claimed him off waivers from the Giants. He has 10- and 7.5-sack seasons on his Detroit resume, with the 10-sack campaign in 2020 prompting the Lions to re-sign him. The seventh-year edge rusher has not yet seen extended run with younger brother Julian, whom the Lions drafted in the 2020 third round.

Both Chark and Romeo Okwara can be moved onto the Lions’ 53-man roster at any point over the next three weeks. Residing on Detroit’s reserve/NFI list, Williams would have the same timeline once he returns to practice. The Lions are in fairly good shape, activation-wise, holding five going into Week 11.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/15/22

November 15th, 2022 at 8:19pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed: DB Devon Key

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

  • Released: WR Kevin Kassis

Tennessee Titans

Eight Teams Attempted To Claim Jerry Tillery; DL Headed To Raiders

November 14th, 2022 at 5:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

Jerry Tillery did not work out with the Chargers, but a fourth of the league wanted to greenlight a contract-year audition. Eight teams attempted to claim the fourth-year defensive lineman, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). The Raiders won out.

In addition to Las Vegas, which now holds the No. 2 spot in the waiver order, the Lions, Panthers, Colts, 49ers, Jets, Giants and Chiefs submitted claims for the former first-round pick. Considering Tillery’s history, the interest is not too surprising. His midseason Bolts exit does make the claim volume notable, however.

Tillery, who follows defensive lineman John Cominsky in drawing eight waiver claims this year, is signed for the remainder of the season. The Chargers passed on Tillery’s fifth-year option in May and moved him out of the picture for good late last week. This number of interested teams does open the door to a potential market in free agency come March.

This marks yet another D-line addition for the Raiders, who restocked their front during the Dave Ziegler–Josh McDaniels regime’s first offseason. Bilal Nichols, Andrew Billings and rookies Matthew Butler and Neil Farrell comprise Las Vegas’ top interior D-line options. The Raiders had re-signed Jon Gruden-era pickup Johnathan Hankins but ended up trading him to the Cowboys before the deadline.

Chosen 28th overall out of Notre Dame in 2019, Tillery has 29 starts under his belt. He has tallied 10.5 career sacks and 12 tackles for loss in three-plus seasons. Tillery notched 14 quarterback hits during the 2020 and ’21 seasons. The new Bolts regime did not view him as much of a fit, signing Sebastian Joseph-Day and Austin Johnson in free agency and not picking up his 2023 option. Despite Johnson going down for the season, the Chargers followed through on ending Tillery’s tenure. With the Fighting Irish in 2018, Tillery recorded eight sacks to move onto the first-round radar.

Pro Football Focus rates Tillery just inside the top 50 among interior D-linemen this season; that mark is well north of the reviews the site gave from 2019-21. Tillery, 26, also finished his Chargers career having suffered a back injury while weightlifting. The Raiders and the septet of teams that did not end up landing him, however, were clearly unconcerned by that development. While the Raiders season has skidded off track, Tillery’s Silver and Black audition will be interesting.

Lions RB D’Andre Swift Frustrated With Usage

November 13th, 2022 at 5:00pm CST by Adam La Rose

Expectations were high for the Lions’ offense this season, in part due to the team’s investments at receiver but also the presence of running back D’Andre Swift. The 23-year-old has once again battled injuries this year, though, leading to a notable shortage of touches.

Swift picked up an ankle injury early in the campaign, but a shoulder sprain led the team to keep him sidelined for the two weeks leading into their bye. The decision was aimed at getting him back to full health in time for Week 7, but he did not return to action until the following game. The Georgia product had availability concerns based on his first two seasons in the league, having missed three games as a rookie and another four in 2021.

Detroit strictly limited Swift’s workload upon his return, giving him just nine carries across two games. That figure was expected to increase slightly during today’s game against the Bears, as detailed by team reporter Tim Twentyman earlier in the week. That came amidst the team seeking to exercise caution with the former second-rounder, of course, but also a growing sense of frustration on the player’s part with his usage.

“I think he got pissed off a little bit,” Lions OC Ben Johnson said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, in the wake of Swift only seeing the field for just 10 snaps against the Packers in Week 9. “But that’s good,” he added. “That means he’s going the right direction for us.”

During today’s comeback win against the Bears, Swift received six carries – ranking a distant second to veteran Jamaal Williams‘ 16 – adding one catch on three targets. While he was able to find the endzone in the fourth quarter, it was Williams who scored the game-winning touchdown in the closing minutes. That will no doubt leave the shared workload between the two a topic of conversation moving forward.

The Lions are still without receivers DJ Chark and Jameson Wiliams, and traded away tight end T.J. Hockenson at the deadline. That would point to a ground-heavy attack, but Johnson cautioned that Swift’s ongoing workload limits are a sign that he is still not fully healthy. With both he and Williams available (at least to varying degrees), 3-6 Detroit will visit the 7-2 Giants next week.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/12/22

November 12th, 2022 at 7:00pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are the minor roster moves in anticipation for Sunday’s slate of games:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Activated from IR: S Charles Washington
  • Promoted from practice squad: OL Rashaad Coward

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

  • Promoted from practice squad: TE Nick Muse

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/9/22

November 9th, 2022 at 4:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Wednesday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Minnesota Vikings

San Francisco 49ers

Adams, Dulin, Ellefson, Galeai, Washington and Willis each have until Nov. 30 to be activated from IR. Should they not be activated, they would revert to season-ending IR. The Colts and Vikings are in solid shape regarding activations, having only used one apiece. The Bears, Cardinals, 49ers and Packers have used three such moves apiece. Teams are allotted eight injury activations this season.

The Cowboys dangled Basham in trades before last week’s deadline, but no takers emerged. While the team cut the other D-lineman they were hoping to deal — Trysten Hill, who has since been claimed by the Cardinals — they ended up using one of their injury activations on Basham. A former Colts third-round pick, Basham notched 3.5 sacks during his first Cowboys season last year. He played in one game this season (Week 1) before going down with a quadriceps injury. The Cowboys, who have Tyron Smith and James Washington on their IR-return radar, have used two injury activations this season.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/7/22

November 7th, 2022 at 7:16pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Monday’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Cincinnati Bengals

Detroit Lions

Las Vegas Raiders

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

  • Designated for return: G Shane Lemieux
  • Placed on IR: DT Nicholas Williams

Lemieux has been out since September 2021. A severe knee injury paused Lemieux’s career, sidelining him after he had commandeered a starting job. The Giants drafted Lemieux in the 2020 fifth round and turned to him as a starter for much of his rookie season. But the team’s new regime addressed the interior line extensively this offseason, signing Mark Glowinski and Jon Feliciano before drafting Joshua Ezeudu and Marcus McKethan.

The Giants, however, lost McKethan for the season and are without starting left guard Ben Bredeson. The team having Lemieux and former center starter Nick Gates, who also battled back from a severe injury, back will provide some options for Brian Daboll up front. Bredeson, whom the team placed on IR last week, will be a candidate to be one of Big Blue’s injury activations later this season.

Load More Posts