The Detroit Lions defense suffered a major injury in the Week 15 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Starting cornerback Carlton Davis went down with a head injury in the first half and was ruled out. After the game, head coach Dan Campbell did not sound at all optimistic about Davis’ availability to play anytime soon; it’s a potential season-ending injury, according to Campbell.
Davis had been playing exceptional football leading up to the injury. No cornerback earned a higher PFF coverage grade over the prior four weeks than Davis. His ability to anticipate routes and stay in phase in coverage against varying types of receivers is something Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn leaned upon to build Detroit’s coverage scheme.
Replacing him this late into the season won’t be easy. Perhaps the top option was “next man up” Khalil Dorsey, but Dorsey is out for the year with a gnarly broken leg suffered in the same game.
Move Amik Robertson outside
Slot corner Amik Robertson has considerable NFL starting experience playing on the outside. Despite his lack of size at 5-foot-9 and 183 pounds, Robertson proved a significantly better outside corner than slot during his years with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Robertson is playing well inside for the Lions, where he’s been ensconced since the team’s minicamp in June. Moving him to Davis’ spot would require shuffling in someone new to the slot, of course. Emmanuel Moseley could be an option there; Moseley was repping ahead of Robertson inside before suffering a torn pec in training camp. Now healthy and active again, Moseley has been a healthy scratch since returning from I.R.
Kindle Vildor
Against the Bills, Vildor was the primary replacement for Davis post-injury. Given how porous the entire defense played on Sunday, it’s hard to separate the wheat from the chaff in evaluating Vildor’s performance against Buffalo without deeper film review.
Vildor is known for two things: his twitchy athleticism and his epic gaffe in the NFC Championship game in San Francisco. There might not be a faster player to top speed on the entire roster than Vildor — including Jahmyr Gibbs and Jameson Williams — and his leaping ability and change-of-direction quickness are incredibly impressive. Yet they don’t always translate well in coverage, where Vildor has proven to be impatient and unsure of his surroundings too often.
He knows the system, has experience in the role and has the athletic profile to provide something close to what Davis offered. Whether Vildor can step up his game is the issue.
Emmanuel Moseley
As noted above, Moseley is healthy and active. At least in spirit, anyway. In practice, the Lions have kept the oft-injured veteran on ice even after activating him from I.R. three weeks ago.
Moseley was on track to win the starting slot CB gig, though that’s a spot he’s almost never played in his seven-year NFL career, primarily with the 49ers. He’s an outside corner with size and press-man experience, noted for his tackling and pre-snap recognition.
The issue with turning to Moseley is his own lengthy injury history. He’s played exactly four snaps since Week 5 of the 2022 season, thanks to two separate torn ACLs and the torn pec that sidelined him for the first 11 games of 2024. Moseley has spent time on I.R. in six of his seven NFL seasons, and the injuries are literally all over his body.
Ennis Rakestraw
Rakestraw is currently on I.R. with a hamstring injury suffered in practice before the Lions’ Week 12 game against the Colts. That means he’s spent the required minimum time on the injured list and is eligible to be activated — if he’s healthy.
Big “if” there…
Rakestraw has battled soft tissue injuries (like the hamstring) going back to his high school days. He’s already had three separate instances of missing time in his eight months with the Lions. One of the reasons a player with his coverage talent and impressive length fell to the No. 61 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft was very real concerns over his ability to stay on the field. Thus far, those concerns have been validated.
Dan Campbell has thus far offered little on Rakestraw’s progress. Pay attention to if he’s seen working out during the limited portion of practice open to the media on Monday and Wednesday. Also, keep in mind that Rakestraw played behind both Dorsey and Vildor on the defensive depth chart when he was healthy.
Practice squad and outside help
The Lions currently have one corner on the practice squad, undrafted rookie Morice Norris. The Fresno State product showed some physicality and intensity in training camp, enough that he cross-trained at safety. He’s a natural slot corner, so elevating Norris would mean he’s a backup option on the inside only, as well as for special teams purposes.
As for free agents, there are very limited options. The most prominent name, former Pro Bowler Xavien Howard, has been on the workout circuit for months and failed to impress Cincinnati, Dallas and others enough in those workouts to get signed despite injury desperation with those teams.
Old friend Jerry Jacobs is the most appealing option on the free agent market. Jacobs started 29 games in three seasons in Detroit, including 12 last year. His coverage work was inconsistent, and he too has not latched on anywhere despite several workouts with different teams–including the Broncos just last week. Jacobs knows the defensive system and at least provides strong run support on the outside, making him a worthwhile candidate to return to Detroit.