The Detroit Lions announced a series of roster moves ahead of their Week 11 matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles, including placing starting tight end Sam LaPorta on injured reserve, signing interior offensive lineman Michale Niese to the active roster, as well as elevating wide receivers Tom Kennedy and Jackson Meeks. Additionally, they also revealed that they have released defensive lineman Pat O’Connor from injured reserve with an injury settlement.
LaPorta suffered a back injury, most likely in Week 10, and was unable to practice all week. He was initially ruled out for Week 11, but after being placed on injured reserve, he will not be eligible to return until Week 15 at the earliest. With LaPorta unavailable, the Lions will turn to Brock Wright for TE1 duties.
“Brock’s a guy we don’t talk a lot about, but he’s the jack of all trades,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said on Friday. “He does everything for us; pass protect, run block, he can run some routes, he plays special teams. He’s one of the most dependable players we have on this team. And at the end of the day, what you really need in the tight end position is versatility and smarts, and he’s got both of those —and he’s tough. So, he checks a lot of boxes of a well-rounded tight end, and so that is always going to make me feel a lot better, offensively feel a lot better.”
With Wright stepping into a TE1 role and Ross Dwelley assuming TE2 duties, the Lions don’t have a clear option at TE3. However, the Lions have been cross-training rookie wide receiver Jackson Meeks at tight end of late, and he could have an interesting role moving forward.
“He’s got some strength, he’s got some size, and we know the athlete,” Campbell said of Meeks. “He’s a big skill, he’s a big athlete, he’s got length, can play strong. So, then we just kind of moved him over there a little bit, and he’s been working with (TE coach) Tyler Roehl. Now he still does scout team receiver, and he’s still working with (WR coach) Scottie (Montgomery) too, here and there. So yeah, we’re just kind of tinkering with him. Maybe there’s an H-back in there. There’s an athlete, so we’ll see. We’re just going to keep working with him. He works hard. Man, he works hard and he’s smart too.”
Kennedy’s elevation could be a move directly related to rookie wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa being added to the injury report on Saturday. While not ruled out, TeSlaa could be at a minimum limited, which should open up the door for Kennedy to contribute as a reserve receiver and potential special teamer. Expect Kennedy to potentially step into a WR4 role due to his reliability.
Niese is added to the roster and gives the Lions eight healthy offensive linemen for game day, making them eligible for the game day roster bonus. With no other offensive linemen elevated for game day, this is a very good sign that starters Penei Sewell, Taylor Decker, and Graham Glasgow are all in good position to be active against the Eagles.
