Tag: juju hughes

DJ Chark activated from IR and ready to play for Lions vs. Giants

Chark has been out since Week 3 with an ankle injury

There was finally some good news on the wide receiver health front in Detroit. On Saturday, the Lions activated erstwhile starting WR DJ Chark from injured reserve.

Chark has been sidelined since Week 3 with an ankle injury. It was an aggravation of a previous injury that kept Chark out of over 10 games for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021 as well.

With Josh Reynolds not making the trip with the team to New York for Sunday’s game against the Giants, it’s a great time for Chark to return. The Lions started his 21-day activation clock last week and Chark practiced all week without any setbacks.

In other Saturday roster moves, the Lions waived safety Juju Hughes and promoted WR Stanley Berryhill from the practice squad to the active roster for Week 11. Berryhill was waived from the active roster after Week 9 but quickly returned on the practice squad.

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Lions planning to play Dolphins without S DeShon Elliott

Coach Dan Campbell stated Juju Hughes “is going to be in that spot” prior to Friday’s practice

It doesn’t sound good for Lions safety DeShon Elliott to play in Detroit’s Week 8 home date with the Miami Dolphins. Head coach Dan Campbell all but ruled out the starting safety in his press conference prior to Friday’s practice session.

Campbell noted that Elliott has not practiced this week and “we’re going to see how he felt today,” but the head coach was not optimistic. Elliott is sidelined with a finger injury.

“Right now, Juju (Hughes) is going to be in that (safety) spot,” Campbell said. We’ve got Jerry (Jacobs) working a little bit too, so we’ve got some options there that we’re trying to work through.”

Hughes stepped into action in Week 7 and played well in 16 snaps, but he lacks Elliott’s range in coverage. Jacobs has been an outside cornerback, and he’s been on the field for exactly one snap in 2022 after returning in Week 7 from ACL surgery last December.

With top safety and team captain Tracy Walker already out for the season after tearing his Achilles in September, losing Elliott is a huge blow to the depth chart. Detroit brought back C.J. Moore earlier this week, signing him to the active roster from the Texans practice squad. Moore played for Detroit in 2020-2021 and does have limited starting experience, though he’s primarily known for his work on special teams.

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Lions vs Vikings: Best and Worst PFF grades from Week 3

Here are the Detroit Lions best and worst PFF performers for this Week 3 game against the Minnesota Vikings.

It is never easy losing against your division opponent, but what happened for the Detroit Lions at the end makes it hurt that much more, losing their second game against the Minnesota Vikings, 28-24.

The Lions looked to be in control, but after some heavily questionable playcalling, ill-timed injuries, and miscommunication, they felt that win slip through their fingers. It has been documented enough that Coach Dan Campbell wishes he would’ve made a different call at the end, so we don’t need to beat a dead horse while it’s down. The Lions will look to redeem themselves next week against the Seattle Seahawks in hopes they can rebound from this devastation.

Most of this week’s PFF grades fall right in line with the eye test, good and bad. So we will go ahead and highlight the best and the worst PFF performers for the Lions for Week 3 against the Vikings.

Lions have options to replace injured S Tracy Walker

The Lions have some in-house options but none have much NFL experience

With the unfortunate news that Lions safety and team captain Tracy Walker has a torn Achilles and will miss the rest of the season, the attention turns to how Detroit can replace Walker. The Lions have a few options for the next man up.

The most likely solution is the one Detroit turned to after Walker’s injury on Sunday: Juju Hughes. The veteran stepped into the Walker role and played acceptably in his 63 defensive snaps in Minnesota. Hughes has primarily played on special teams through his two prior NFL seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, but he earned his spot in the defensive rotation with a solid training camp and preseason. His ability to play single-high in Aaron Glenn’s defense makes Hughes the natural choice.

Third-round rookie Kerby Joseph could be in line for a major uptick in playing time. Joseph played exclusively on special teams in the first three weeks even after Walker suffered the injury early in Week 3. The rookie from Illinois offers range and coverage ability but had some struggles with the strength and diversity of the NFL this summer.

Converted cornerback Ifeatu Melifonwu has missed the first three games while dealing with a hamstring injury. The injury has slowed his transition, unfortunately, leading the second-year DB to be inactive on Sunday despite finally not carrying an injury designation into the game. Before his injury, Melifonwu was working primarily as a slot safety in big nickel packages, a role Walker typically has not aligned in this year.

Will Harris started next to Walker at safety for most of the last three seasons before Harris moved to outside CB this season. The Lions like Harris more at corner, and no small part of that is because Harris was consistently one of the worst safeties in the league. It would be surprising to see Harris move back unless the other options flop first.

Should the Lions choose to bring in a veteran free agent, there are a couple of notable names in Landon Collins and Jaquiski Tartt. But neither appears to be any better of an option than what the Lions already have in the younger, cheaper players. Collins has been a liability in coverage for several seasons and misses his fair share of tackles.  For his part, Tartt sure sounded content with not playing anymore in a recent interview. It would be quite surprising to see GM Brad Holmes spend money that usurps potential in-house player development on vets who might not be better than what Detroit already has.

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Lions vs. Commanders: Game notes from the Week 2 film review

Lions film room notes on Jared Goff’s big day, disciplined aggression in the run game, great special teams and more

Tuesday mornings are devoted to rewatching Sunday’s Lions performances. Some of those Tuesdays are easier than others, and this week was one of them.

The game film from the Lions’ 36-27 home win over the Washington Commanders in Week 2 revealed a lot of positives from Dan Campbell’s Detroit team. Quite a few initial judgments were confirmed, but there were also some fresh observations that needed the second (and third–I watch both the game and the All-22) viewing to appreciate.

Here’s some of what really stood out from watching the film of the Lions’ triumphant date with the Commanders.

Lions vs Eagle: Best and worst PFF grades for Week 1

The Detroit Lions best and worst PFF performers in their Week 1 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Surely it wasn’t the start the Detroit Lions were hoping for in their Week 1 home opener. The Lions fought their way back, making it a close contest, but in the end, early mistakes and slow starts led to the downfall against the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35.

The offense started very well, scoring on their first drive, but afterward, it came to a screeching halt with the next three drives resulting in three-and-outs and, as a result, gassing the defense as they were having troubles with their own against Jalen Hurts. Afterward, the offense did find their stride, especially through the running game, which had been working throughout the day, and the defense powered through, giving the Lions a shot, but it just wasn’t enough.

In years past, the Lions would’ve called it quits and just let the Eagles continue their onslaught. Not this time. This Detroit squad showed plenty of fight and a lot of grit, which has been the Lions mantra since Dan Campbell took over. Teams are still finding their footing at the beginning of the season, and as long as they clean up the mistakes, the Lions could fight a way to turn out wins.

Here are this week’s best and worst PFF performers for the Lions against the Eagles.

8 quick takeaways from the Lions initial 53-man roster

Here are eight quick reaction snap judgments on Tuesday’s activity and roster decisions, including notes on safeties, injuries, Logan Stenberg, David Blough and more

The initial Detroit Lions 53-man roster has been set. GM Brad Holmes and his crew whittled down the roster from 80 players to 53 at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.

It’s important to note that the initial 53-man roster might not last even 24 hours. The Lions hold the No. 2 spot in the NFL’s waiver claim order and could be active in making a couple of changes.

Here are some quick reaction snap judgments on Tuesday’s activity and roster decisions.

10 Lions roster bubble players to watch vs. Colts

These are 10 Lions players who can really help–or hurt–themselves in the quest to make the final 53-man roster in the second preseason week.

After the first round of cuts, 85 players remain on the Detroit Lions as they enter the second week of preseason. The opportunities to impress are getting shorter with the week in Indianapolis for the Lions’ first road game of the exhibition season. For the players on the roster bubble, it’s rapidly approaching now-or-never time.

Saturday’s preseason game at Lucas Oil Field (1 p.m. ET) is the fiery crucible in which true winners are forged, but the coaching staff is also keenly watching the joint practices at the Colts training facility in Grant Park north of Indianapolis.

These are 10 Lions players who can really help–or hurt–themselves in the quest to make the final 53-man roster in the second preseason week.

Lions minicamp notebook, Day 3: News and notes from the final practice session

Notes from Thursday’s Detroit Lions minicamp session on Jared Goff, UDFAs, punt return fun, an unexpected safety standout and more

Minicamp wrapped on Thursday after three days of practice sessions at the Detroit Lions team facility in suburban Allen Park.

The mood and action was more laid back in a last-day-of-school kind of vibe, to steal a take from Jeremy Reisman of Pride of Detroit. It even ended with a sort of “field day” fun competition between the offense and defense.

Here’s what I saw and heard in Thursday’s session.

Lions minicamp notebook, Day 2: Probing the depths of the roster

Lions minicamp notebook: First impressions from opening day

Lions claim safety JuJu Hughes off waivers from the Rams

The Detroit Lions claim safety JuJu Hughes off waivers from the Los Angeles Rams

The Detroit Lions season might be over, but GM Brad Holmes keeps on adding players. Holmes tapped into his former team, the Los Angeles Rams, and claimed safety JuJu Hughes off waivers from the playoff-bound Rams.

Hughes is in his second NFL season and played 19 total games for the Rams, almost exclusively on special teams. He did get some brief looks as a free safety in Los Angeles as he bounced between the active roster and practice squad. Hughes recorded four total tackles and played 29 snaps on defense in seven games in Los Angeles in 2021.

The 5-11, 188-pound Hughes was an undrafted free agent in 2020 after a hard-hitting career at Fresno State. Holmes, then the Rams’ director of scouting, was the primary catalyst in the Rams signing him to a contract. Interestingly, Hughes pushed another current Lions player, DE Eric Banks, off the Rams roster earlier this season in a roster move. The Lions claimed Banks off waivers when the Rams dumped him to sign Hughes from their practice squad.

Detroit can certainly use the help at safety, where only Brady Breeze and Will Harris are under contract once the league year changes to 2022.