In the final days of Lions training camp in late August, there was a mystery player on the field, running sprints under the watchful eyes of two members of the training staff at the start of a drizzly morning practice.
“Who is that guy in the No. 4 jersey?”, I wondered aloud to another Lions writer, who shrugged in confusion as well.
We quickly remembered it was Emmanuel Moseley. The free agent cornerback had been sidelined for the entirety of the offseason to that point, recovering from a torn ACL suffered last October while playing for the San Francisco 49ers. It was easy to forget about Moseley and his presence on the Detroit roster.
The excitement for Moseley getting into the lineup has been a frustrating exercise in patience. There was a setback in rehabilitation from the original surgery that required another procedure. Then there was a hamstring issue that has continued to keep Moseley out of practice for the first three weeks, just after the Lions opted to activate him from the PUP list and onto the 53-man roster.
Moseley has been listed as a limited participant in the two practices this week. With it being a short work week for a Thursday night game, those were more walkthroughs and installs than actual practices. But it’s a sign that Moseley could return soon, perhaps as early as the Week 5 matchup with the Carolina Panthers.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell addressed Moseley’s pending return and how the team will work him into the lineup.
“I think, more than anything, it will probably be by series,” Campbell said. “Certainly give him a couple in a row where he gets a good feel and I think most of it will be we’ll put a governor on his reps, so that we’ll be smart about that as he comes back. Then, really from there, it’s how does he feel? What’s his body saying? Then it’s just about getting in conditioning, like the rest of the guys have done over time.”
Moseley will have to earn the starting job from Jerry Jacobs, who has started the first three games. Jacobs has been frequently targeted, and he’s also struggled with penalties (three pass interference calls) and missed tackles (four, the most of any CB in the league through three weeks).
Despite Jacobs’ early struggles, Campbell won’t just give Moseley the gig.
“Certainly, we’ll see where that goes,” Campbell said of getting Moseley into the lineup. “The good news is if it’s not quite there yet then we still have Jerry, and we’ll battle it out. We’re fortunate to have both those guys.”
It finally looks like the Lions will have some real depth at cornerback with Moseley’s pending return. Keep in mind that Moseley has gone through exactly two full practices in a year, however. As Campbell smartly noted, easing him back in should reflect the fan expectations for Moseley in the next couple of weeks once he does make it back onto the field.