Starting left guard Joe Dahl and starting slot corner Justin Coleman are now eligible to return from the Detroit Lions short-term Injured Reserve — but don’t expect them to be activated just yet.
Dahl started the season off on a great note, showing a marked improvement in his run blocking, but a mid-week groin injury ahead of Week 2 landed him on IR. In Dahl’s place, the Lions promoted Oday Aboushi to starting left guard, but he struggled in Week 2, forcing a shift on the offensive line.
Right tackle Hal Vaitai returned in Week 3, and in an effort to keep their best starting five offensive linemen on the field, they kept Tyrell Crosby at right tackle, shifted Vaitai inside to right guard, and rookie right guard Jonah Jackson to left guard. They repeated this lineup in Week 4.
How the Lions alter their starting five once Dahl returns is a bit of an unknown at this point and there are several unanswered questions:
- Will they keep the same five they have used in the last two weeks?
- Will they pick their best five and shuffle players are around again? This is probably what will happen, but who are the top five?
- Crosby is outplaying Vaitai, but will they be willing to put one of their top free agents on the bench?
- Or will Vaitai shift inside and bump the rookie Jackson? That’d be a hard sell because Jackson has also been outplaying Vaitai.
Before any of those questions can even be answered, Dahl has to actually return to the active roster, which may not happen just yet.
While Dahl is eligible to return at any time, he may still be injured, which could delay a return. The Lions are also on their bye week, meaning there is no rush to active Dahl, as activating him would force the team to make a corresponding roster move. Instead, expect them to keep Dahl in the 21-day evaluation period, thus allowing them to have an expanded roster to evaluate over the next two weeks.
Coleman returning is a little more cut and dry. Darryl Roberts has been manning the slot in Coleman’s absence, and this (eventual) move will bump Roberts back into a reserve role — though expect Coleman’s return to also be delayed for roster purposes.
The Lions still have three corners — Desmond Trufant, Amani Oruwariye, and Jeff Okudah — battling for two spots on the outside, but Trufant was re-injured last game, which could open up the opportunity for the young corners. If Trufant is healthy after the bye, expect the young corners to rotate as they did in Week 4, while Coleman start
One final note: Running back Bo Scarbrough and corner Mike Ford became eligible to return from IR last week, so keep an eye out for potential roster moves involving them in the near future as well.