DJ Charkhas not seen the field since Week 3, and is not close to a return. The Lions announced on Saturday that the veteran wideout has been placed on IR.
The move guarantees that Chark will not be able to return for another month, and adds to the disappointment of his debut season in Detroit. The 26-year-old signed a one-year deal in March, as the team made a number of moves aimed at upgrading its aerial attack. Even with first-round rookie Jameson Williamsyet to be activated, that improvement has taken place so far, as the Lions rank eighth in the NFL in passing yards per game (272).
Chark, however, has played a small role in that early success. The former Pro Bowler scored a touchdown in Week 1, but was held without a catch the following week. Overall, he has totaled 98 yards on seven receptions in 2022, a year in which he looked to put availability troubles behind him after an ankle injury limited him to four contests last season.
“I’m not really too comfortable speaking too deep into the detail of [the injury], just because I’m trying to figure out everything myself,” Chark said when speaking to the media, during which time he was seen in a walking boot. “But I definitely will be back this year for sure.”
Without their top free agent signing, the Lions will move forward with Josh Reynoldsand Amon-Ra St. Brown as their top wideouts, along with tight end T.J. Hockensonas a focal point of their pass-catching corps. Chark is joined by cornerback Bobby Priceon IR.
In more positive news, the team also confirmed that rookie defensive Josh Paschal and second-round corner Jerry Jacobs have been activated from the PUP list. Coming off of their bye week, the Lions will look to earn their second win of the year on Sunday against the Cowboys.
The deadline for teams to extend tender offers to their restricted free agents and exclusive rights free agents looms next week. We’ll keep tabs on the latest here:
December 18th, 2021 at 7:37pm CST by Zachary Links
We are trying our best here at Pro Football Rumors to keep up with all of the updates throughout the league concerning players on the reserve/COVID-19 list. A lot of teams had high hopes during today’s testing as they were trying to get players activated in time for Sunday’s slate of games.
Blough was an undrafted rookie from Purdue last year who ended up starting five games after injuries to Matthew Stafford and Jeff Driskel. The offseason addition of Chase Daniel made Blough expendable, but he’ll serve as the third quarterback.
Wiggins has been in the league since 2012, and he has extensive starting experience. He’s started 13 games for Detroit over the past two years, and will probably be the first guy getting called up if there are offensive line injuries. Williams carried the ball 49 times for Indy last year, but he’ll have a tough time getting any snaps now that the Lions have also added Adrian Peterson.
Heading into the draft, Bryant was pegged as an early Day 3 type of prospect by most analysts. When teams passed on him due to medical concerns – including his history of knee injuries – the Lions swooped him up with $60K in guaranteed cash. Bryant will fight for his place on the tight end depth chart, somewhere behind T.J. Hockenson and Jesse James.
Dinson, meanwhile, fetched an $80K guarantee between his $30K signing bonus and $50K base guarantee (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle). He’s also a worthwhile name to watch. The Auburn product has experience at both nickel and safety with four interceptions over the course of his collegiate career.
