The Detroit Lions announced that they have downgraded defensive linemen Da’Shawn Hand and Austin Bryant to OUT for their Week 11 game against the Carolina Panthers.
Couple today’s news with yesterday’s injury declarations — D’Andre Swift, Kenny Golladay, and Danny Amendola — and the Lions have announced five players OUT this week, with four of them being starters.
Hand injured his groin mid-week, and while he was able to get in some limited work at the end of the week, he was apparently not able to pass the Saturday medical checks ahead of the team traveling to Carolina.
Bryant (thigh) was unable to practice on Wednesday, and like Hand, got in some limited work late in the week before being downgraded today.
When Nick Williams was injured last week, Frank Herron was called up from the practice squad to fill in at defensive tackle. Now Hand’s injury puts the Lions in the same situation once again, so don’t be surprised if Herron — whom the team protected this week — is once again called up to fill in.
At defensive end, the Lions practice squad depth is thin, with only Kareem Martin on the depth chart. The Lions have protected him once this season but he seems like an unlikely call-up with pressing needs elsewhere — specifically at wide receiver, where elevating Mohamad Sanu (also protected this week) makes more sense.