After several days of adding players to the reserve/COVID-19 list, the Detroit Lions finally had someone come off the list on Wednesday. Starting center Evan Brown made his return from the reserve/COVID-19 list for Wednesday’s practice.
It’s a welcome return by Brown, who has played well since replacing injured Pro Bowler Frank Ragnow early in the season. Brown missed the Week 14 loss to the Broncos. He was replaced by undrafted rookie Ryan McCollum and there was a noticeable decline in pass protection on the interior.
The Lions still have several players on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Safety Tracy Walker and CBs Ifeatu Melifonwu, Corey Ballentine, Nickell Robey-Coleman, Bobby Price and Mark Gilbert are all still idled. Ballentine and Robey-Coleman are on the practice squad but played Sunday as elevations to fill in for others.
To help with the decimated secondary, the Lions claimed CB Saivion Smith off waivers from the San Francisco 49ers this week. He joins ex-Titans safety Brady Breeze as newcomers in the Detroit defensive backfield.