The Detroit Lions are getting healthier in the secondary after being hit with a series of injuries, leading the team to part ways with one veteran defensive back who joined late in the season to offer depth.
The team announced on Jan. 1 that they released defensive back Jamal Adams from the practice squad. Adams joined the team in December, signing to the practice squad following his release by the Tennessee Titans. Though Adams was elevated for two games, the return of another key player left him on the outside of the roster bubble.
Jamal Adams Squeezed Out
As Jeff Risdon of USA Today’s Lions Wire noted, Adams became “expendable” to the Lions when another safety returned from injury.
“In two games as a practice squad elevation, Adams played sparingly and primarily as a nickel LB,” Risdon wrote. “He recorded three tackles between Week 14 and Week 15. The healthy return of Ifeatu Melifonwu, who plays primarily in the same role as a box safety/heavy slot, made Adams expendable.”
Melifonwu missed the first three games of the season while nursing an ankle injury, with the team finally deciding to place him on injured reserve in Week 4. He returned in December, starting two games and making eight total tackles including one tackle for a loss.
Adams appeared in three games for the Titans this season with one start, making four tackles. In his two games with the Lions he appeared in 20 defensive snaps, making three total tackles.
Adams will now become a free agent, with the potential to land with a contending team to provide depth in the playoffs.
Another Big Return for the Lions
While the Lions have been hit hard by injuries this year — including losing star pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson to a fractured leg — they may have gotten more good news this week. Head coach Dan Campbell hinted that linebacker and team captain Alex Anzalone could return for the first time in more than a month.
Anzalone suffered a broken forearm in the team’s win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Nov. 17, but could return to the field for the season finale.
“We’ll see. He’s doing well,” Campbell said, via the Detroit News. “He’s close, he’s really close.”
Sunday’s season finale carries some massive stakes. The Lions and Minnesota Vikings both enter the game at 14-2, with the winner earning the NFC North title and the first-overall seed in the NFC for the playoffs. The loser will become the first 14-win team to earn a wild-card berth in NFL history, forcing them to go on the road for the opening round of the playoffs.
Campbell said the game was an “exciting” opportunity for the team.
“For where we’re at, it’s the next one and it is exciting, but we all know it’s still going to come down to the prep and we got to put the work in,” Campbell said, via the Detroit Free Press. “It’s going to start today. We’ll be out there in a walk-through and then, man, you put your best foot forward and you give your guys all you can and you cut them loose and let them go make plays and see where you step up. So that’s the exciting part.”
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Lions Release Former All-Pro DB Days Before Season Finale