No, it’s not a misprint. The Detroit Lions did indeed place safety Ifeatu Melifonwu on injured reserve on Tuesday.
Yes, it’s also true the Lions activated Melifonwu from I.R. on Monday.
What gives?
Melifonwu is back on I.R. for at least four more weeks with a finger injury. He had previously missed all of the 2024 campaign through Week 11 with an ankle issue suffered in Detroit’s second preseason game. Melifonwu injured his finger in practice last week after already being designated to return from I.R.
As head coach Dan Campbell explained on Monday, Melifonwu was going to be out for more time than the end of his 21-day activation window, which was originally slated for after the Week 12 trip to Indianapolis. The oft-injured reserve safety is now out until at least Week 16.
Melifonwu is eligible to be activated from I.R. a second time, though the team has a limited number of activations and several other players (Brodric Martin, Emmanuel Moseley, John Cominsky, Jalen Reeves-Maybin) also slated to come back at some point.