The new league year didn’t change the weirdly antiquated notion of declaring several players from the active roster ineligible to play each week. The Lions did their duty and ruled out the following players from the Week 1 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers:
- WR KhaDarel Hodge
- RB Jermar Jefferson
- WR Tom Kennedy
- OL Tommy Kraemer
- OLB Julian Okwara
- DE Levi Onwuzurike
Onwuzurike is the only injury-related scratch. The rookie DE was questionable with a hip injury.
Okwara is a bit of a surprise. The second-year pass rusher was productive in the preseason but is not one of the top OLB options against the run-heavy 49ers.
The 49ers also released their inactive player list:
#49ers inactives: DT Javon Kinlaw (injured), CB Emmanuel Moseley (injured), CB Josh Norman, G Aaron Banks, RB Trey Sermon
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) September 12, 2021