The Detroit Lions officially announced a handful of roster moves on Saturday afternoon, ahead of their Week 12 home contest against the New York Giants.

Veteran Lions cornerback D.J. Reed and Khalil Dorsey were activated off of injured reserve.

Safety Erick Hallett and linebacker Ty Summers were waived and tight end Anthony Firkser was elevated from the practice squad.

Down the stretch, the Lions may need to lean more on the defense, as the injury to tight end Sam LaPorta could force Dan Campbell and the offensive coaching staff to adapt their strategy in the coming weeks.

Limiting the Eagles to only 16 points at home has given the unit additional confidence the unit can be trusted and relied upon.

The added benefit is the defense is expected to get healthier and add returning players who have have been rehabbing and working their way back on to the field.

“It’s the reason I tell you guys – I’ve stood up here throughout the course of this entire offseason and told you guys, this is why it’s such a joy to coach this group,” said defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard. “That’s why it’s an honor to be the coordinator here, because I get to work with guys like that where they’re never satisfied, it’s never enough.”

Sheppard feels that if the unit can work to limit explosive plays from their opponents and increase forcing turnovers, the defense can put the team in the best position to win.

“It’s the same way I feel as the play-caller. I could’ve done more for (Lions coach) Dan (Campbell) and the offense, for (Lions Offensive Coordinator John Morton) Johnny Mo and those guys over there. We could’ve stolen one more possessio,” said Sheppard. “That’s where I found the one bad within the game you could say, within the takeaway. Because once you step away from a win, loss, freaking excellent performance, bad performance, you always try to pull away things that you can improve upon, and then things that you did well.

“And within that, you find things. It’s really a joy and honor to work with a group of players that can go out and hold a team of that caliber to what we did, and those guys still feel like we left meat on the bone,” Sheppard added. “So, we’re attacking this week, and we know that we’ll try not to leave those opportunities out there moving forward.”

Playing the Giants, a team with a losing record, should give Detroit an opportunity to execute well on both sides of the football.