After news broke earlier today that the Lions were planning on signing TE Ross Dwelley and WR Malik Cunningham to their Practice squad, it was expected that there would be some corresponding moves to offset. The Lions on their Official X account announced the following additional moves: Released From Practice Squad LB Monty Rice Placed on IR TE Shane Zylstra Signed to Active Roster OL Trystan Colon (from Lions PS) Signed to Practice Squad WR Malik Cunningham TE Ross Dwelley It was a short sting for Rice, who was signed last week Last week on 9/9. Zylstra will have to be on the IR list for at least four-weeks and can be one of up to eight designated IR returnees for the Lions during the season.

Brad Holmes keeps churning the bottom of the practice squad, sometimes out of necessity, and sometimes to help prep for the next game. Todays reported signings look to accomplish just that. As previously mentioned, the Lion are bringing in former Raven (and Patriot) WR/QB Malik Cunningham. In addition, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero just posted that the Lions are reportedly also signing TE Ross Dwelley to the practice squad as well. Dwelley is a seven-year NFL vet and is 6'5" and 235, originally signed in 2018 by the 49ers as an UDFA after playing at San Diego St. He was last in the NFL in 2024 with the Atlanta Falcons, playing in all 17 games, but only recording 1 catch for 5 yards. This comes as no surprise, as TE3 Shane Zylstra left the Lions-Bears game with what looked like a nasty Ankle injury and did not return. If Zylstra is down for any amount of time, that leaves the Lions with LaPorta, Wright and Zach Horton (PS) available on the roster. Depending on the severity of Zylstra's injury, he could go on IR and Horton would be the likely call up to the active roster, with Dwelley backfilling him on the practice squad.

What appears to be prep work for this week’s upcoming game, the Lions will be adding the former Raven (and Patriot) WR/QB Malik Cunningham to their Practice Squad per ESPNs Adam Schefter . His signing will have a dual benefit to the Lions, as he should be able to provide some insight into the Ravens offense, but he can try to imitate Lamar Jackson this week in practice, giving the lions a much better look than Kyle Allen or C.J. Beathard can. I am not going to get too excited about this signing and post a bunch of data because it feels like he will be here for about a week and then be swapped out for someone else. It will be interesting to see what the corresponding move will be, as someone on the Practice Squad will have to either be cut or promoted, and if promoted, then someone on Active Roster will need to be put on IR or cut. Two candidates are Marcus Davenport (Shoulder) to IR, or Jacob Saylors (Cut) and brought back to the Practice Squad if not claimed.

The Teacher took the student behind the woodshed Sunday afternoon as Dan Campbell’s Detroit Lions absolutely destroyed Ben Johnson’s Chicago Bears 52-21 at Ford Field.  The game was close through the first quarter (14-& Lions, but since then Detroit outscored the Bears 38-17 the rest of the way on record performances by Amon-Ra St Brown (3 TDs) and massive numbers by Jared Goff who was 23/28 for 334 yards, 5 TDs, 0 ints and 160.0 Passer rating. The team looked significantly better in almost all facets of the game than they did during last week’s debacle in Green Bay, and this is the team we expected to see show up last week. Isaac tesla 2nd Career Catch What Went Wrong:  There wasn’t much, but a few things form the Packers loss carried over to start the game. The big one was miscommunication between the back seven, as Ben Johnson targeted the LBs early and often in both the run game (runs to boundary) and Pass Game (Crossing routes) which led to two of the three Bears TDs. The second issue was an inconsistent pass rush which wasn’t very consistent until the Bears were forced to become one-dimensional when the game was essentially over.  Lastly was sloppy play (penalties and tackling) being a thing again during portions of the game. Although everything was “improved” over last week, but good teams will exploit it if the Lions don’t get it cleaned up from the start of a game.  Other things were the injuries, with Marcus Davenport having both Ankle and Shoulder injuries and Shane Zylstra knocked out of the game forcing Lions to use an OL as TE 3.  Hutch, Joseph and Branch also had signs of getting dinged during the game, but we will need to wait for official injury report starting Thursday. Odunze TD due to bad Communication   What Went Right:  Everything? The Offense was electric, not predictable and efficient while the Special Teams (outside of a missed FG) had great coverage and kicking.  Everyone contributed (Goff mentioned above) with Gibbs having 94 yards and a TD and a 7.8 YPC, Montgomery avg 5.2 YPC for his 57 yards and also had a TD.  The WRs were awesome, with ST Brown and Jamo both over 100 yards and four TDs combined and Isaac TeSlaa completely broke the Bears with an Amazing one-handed catch right before halftime that led to a TD.  Brock Wright and Sam LaPorta combined for six catches, 54 yards and a TD form the TE position.  This is what we have come to expect form the Lions running Dan Campbell’s offense (no talking heads, it wasn’t Ben Johnsons.)   The Defense forced two turnovers, held the Bears to 0-2 on 4 th  down and had four sacks, five Tackles for Losses, five passes defensed and four QB hits. Brian Branch was an absolute terror, racking up six tackles, a sack, two TFL, a Pass Breakup and another QB hit.  His Pro Bowl running mate Kerby Joseph recorded his 1 st  INT of the year as well.  They need to continue to clean Kerby TD Celly   What’s Next:   The Lions brutal early season schedule continues, with a trip to M&T Stadium in Baltimore to take on the Ravens on Monday night next week. Lamar Jackson led them to a 41-17 victory over the Browns earlier today while tossing four TDs.  The Ravens, while 1-1 on the season, are coming off back-to-back 40+ point games to open the season.

The Lions and the Bears released their inactive lists and not seeing a whole lot of surprises from what was expected from the final injury list with game designations. For the Lions, the great news is that both Taylor Decker (Questionable) and Kerby Joseph (Questionable) are active and appear to be ready to give it a go, hinted at by the lone elevation of LB Monty Smith to the roster. Other than that, no surprises as Nowaske (Out) and Vaki (Questionable) were not expected to play and Lacy, Smith and Wheat are all at the bottom of the depth chart DL. The Bears inactives are also in line with their final injury report, including Fordon (Out), Walker (Doubtful) along with healthy scratches Trapilo, Keenum (3rd QB), Amegaje and Turner. What it does mean is that all four starters that appeared in the injury list all week, including their massive run stuffer Grady Jackson (Questionable), will be suited up and will play.

Final injury report with designations had plenty of good news for one team, and a potential major issue for another. Bears Friday/Game Designation: Bears report shows lots of good news, as only CB Kyler Gordon is Out, with WR Jahdae Walker Doubtful and DT Grady Jackson Questionable.  The other five all had full participation and will be ready to play against the Lions, including Starters LB TJ Edwards, WR DJ Moore, and CB Jaylon Johnson. Thursday:    The Bears report had zero changes on it form yesterday’s estimate, so all designations were the same and what I wrote still holds.  Tomorrow will have game designations, so we will see if Jackson and Edwards are gonna give it a go.   Wednesday:  The Bears have eight players on the initial injury list, with four of them being starters. DL Grady Jarrett (NP), LB TJ Edwards (LP), WR DJ Moore (FP) and DB Jaylon Johnson (FP) are the starters listed, although it appears only Jackson and Edwards may miss the Lions game.  The other five players are all backups, although the Bears DB depth may be tested due to a total of three DBs appearing today. Lions Friday/Game Designation:  Several surprises were on the Lions Friday injury list and Game Designations. The first was that Taylor Decker, who has not practiced all week, was only listed as Questionable, which means he has at least a 50% chance of playing. The other surprise is that S Kerby Joseph, also listed as Questionable, popped up today with a Knee injury. Losing both would be bad news for the Lions, as Manu at LT and Ya-Sin at S would be the likely fill ins, but a major downgrades. Outside of that, no other surprises, as Nowaske (out), Vaki (Doubtful) are still likely not to play despite limited participation this week, and Arnold, Thomas and Campbell are all good to go. Thursday: Virtually no change to the Lions practice report for Thursday, although Jack Campbell did get bumped up to a full participant, so he should be good to go Sunday. Taylor Decker is a bit of a concern, as he was listed for second day in a row as No Practice. However, Lions OC John Morton did say at his presser today that he expects Taylor Decker to play. Nowaske and Vaki are still limited, so tomorrow will tell us whether they are trending to b active or not. Arnold and Thomas were full participants for second day in a row, suggesting no long-term effects form their game injury last week. Wednesday: The Lions injury list includes two unexpected names in Taylor Decker and Jack Campbell. Both players finished the game against the Packers but missed practice today due to a Shoulder and Ankle injuries respectively. Tomorrow will give indication if this is serious, or just an extra day of rest for a couple of veterans. The good surprises were that Terrion Arnold (Groin) and Daniel Thomas (Hand), who both left the Packers game and did not return, were listed as full participants. Carryovers form last week, Trevor Nowaske (LP) and Sionne Vaki (LP) both improved form last report, while Kayode Awosika and Isaac TeSlaa were not listed this week.

After listening to Dan Campbell’s morning Press event (before practice) today, here is some instant analysis (my opinions based on Campbell’s Q&A responses.)  Also included below are the questions and answers (paraphrased) from the session. Dan Campbell at the 09/12/25 Pre-Practice Presser Instant Analysis This sure sounds like they expect Taylor Decker to miss the game, or be substantially limited if he does play, in favor of keeping him healthy for the long-term.  Gio Manu will have to be ready to start or step in at a moment’s notice, and if he does the Lions Offense will likely trend toward his strengths. The comments on Manu are pretty spot on in my opinion if he needs to play. Kid has the tools, but lacks experience and needs to get better, likely in a hurry.  Both Montez Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo will give him a challenge on passing downs. Dan Campbell has tremendous respect for Bears Defensive Coordinator Dennis Allen (they coached together on Saints and the Lions defense is a derivative of Allen’s Saints scheme via Aaron Glenn). Interesting comment from Campbell with it being Game 2 and the team (specifically the OL) finally having played together other than Scrimmages and Joint Practices should allow them to play better.  This has been a Staff topic for quite a few weeks and may be on next week’s pod. Vaki and Wingo appear to be very close to being ready to be active on gameday Comments also provided on containing both DeAndre Swift and Caleb Williams, Coordinators bouncing back and use of Al-Quadin Muhammad against Packers and moving forward. Q&A form Presser (Paraphrased) On Taylor Decker: Campbell says he has a little something and trying to buy him some time to let him feel better. Said he will be ready, as long as it feels right. Said Lions feel good and still have another day (and Decker has played a lot of Football) and that they will see, but can’t give a definitive yes. Comment regarding injury is related to Decker’s offseason Shoulder surgery Campbell said he isn’t sure on that, and left it at that. On comfort level of bringing Gio Manu into game to fill in for Decker Campbell said he has got to be ready and he know that and has been getting reps all week.  Campbell also said that he thought he practiced better the last two days. If Lions prepared to give Manu help and what impact it has on Game Plan Campbell said it change some things, but you have to stay ahead of sticks in manageable situations.  Manu has strengths and things he has to continue to work on as he grows and develops and will use his strengths Asked if Decker will be at Practice Today Campbell says he will not be out there.  But said for the record, Decker wants to play, but it comes down to the long-term for the season and what is best. Question on pressure chasing the 2-0 Packers since Lions have been playing from ahead last two year Doesn’t see it as pressure, and when team is forced to compete is a good thing and they knew coming into the season that it was going to be a tough division with good players and good coaches and competitive.  Its early in season and teams will also come into adversity, but need to be playing best ball at the end of the season. Question on Mehki Wingo being inactive and what he hopes to see form him before gets back on field He has gotten some reps this week and like where he is at and is physically ready.  Trending in right way with overall development before he was injured last season.  Has flexibility for inside and outside and glad to have him back. On how Coordinators responded to adversity form last week Said they have been great as expected and focused this week on cleaning up their own issues and moving on. On what kind of Boost Vaki provides Campbell said it would be a significant boost because he is an outstanding special team’s player Hallmarks of a Dennis Allen Defense Campbell said wow, they play hard, smart, disciplined, aggressive, tough, Allen is an outstanding coach, he does it right and know how to teach, communicate and how to put players in position for success. On Muhammed use Campbell likes what he gave team last year and was better this year through camp.  Can spell Hutch and use on Third Down and knows how to play the run and set an edge. On keeping Caleb Williams Contained Trick is to contain him, can’t be too careful and paralyze your guys, so has a fine balance between keeping him in the pocket and continuing him form not escaping.  Kyle Allen played Williams in Practice and gave team great simulation this week. On DeAndre Swift importance to run game Can’t allow teams to run on team, knows Swift is an exceptional athlete, powerful legs, quick, explosive and if he finds a crease he is gone.  Have to bottle him up and gang tackle.  Can’t let them establish the ground game. Question on noise at Lambeau compounding communication issues, how will being back at Ford Field Help Help because it is Game 2, all starters have now played together in particular the OL (other than scrimmages and joint practices). Back home in own element where verbal comes back into it instead of silent cadence.  Both elements will help.

The first official injury report has been released by the Lions and Packers and one team is looking a lot better than the other.    Packers The Packers have a grand total of nine players on the initial injury list, with five of them being starters. Jordan Love is the headliner, but I would expect him to play with a Full Practice designation. Jenkins and Parsons are up in the air, but its likely both will also push through their injuries and make the attempt to start. Reed and Hobbs have Knee/Foot injuries and did not proactive today, so it will be telling based on their status changes the next few days.  The rest f the group is primarily depth, but it is notable that the Packers have three WRs currently hobbled which could impact their depth and force Practice Squad call ups.   Lions The Lions injury list (Estimated due to Lions not practicing Wednesday) is significantly better, with only four players and none of them starters.  TeSLaa is the biggest name form the fans perspective, as he was mysteriously absent form practice in Tuesday, but is in the process of shaking off an illness and should be good to go by Sunday afternoon.  Vaki, Awosika and Nowaske all may be unavailable, but are mainly Special Team contributors and depth pieces for the Lions.

The final injury report has been released by the Lions and Packers and only one major change has taken place to a key reserve.  Changes from prior day are in Bolded red  or green   Packers   Friday/Game Designation:  No changes for the Packers, as all nine players on their injury report either were a full participant (Love) or were limited (the remaining eight including Micah Parsons).  As for game designations, starting C Elgton Jenkins and QB Jordan Love are good to go, but remaining starters Parsons, Hobbs, and Reed all are Questionable, meaning they have a 75% chance of playing.  This usually means they will all give it a go but could be susceptible to reinjury and not making it through the game.    Thursday:  Two major changes for the Packers, as starting CB Nate Hobbs and Starting WR Jayden reed both were upgraded from No Participation to Limited Participation.  No status change for LB Micah Parsons, but a report from this morning indicated he intended to play through his back injury against the Lions.    Wednesday:  The Packers have a grand total of nine players on the initial injury list, with five of them being starters. Jordan Love is the headliner, but I would expect him to play with a Full Practice designation. Jenkins and Parsons are up in the air, but it's likely both will also push through their injuries and make the attempt to start. Reed and Hobbs have Knee/Foot injuries and did not proactive today, so it will be telling based on their status changes the next few days.  The rest f the group is primarily depth, but it is notable that the Packers have three WRs currently hobbled which could impact their depth and force Practice Squad call ups.     Lions   Friday/Game Designation:  Only one change, and that is Jamarco Jones, who had an ankle mishap at practice on Thursday missed practice on Friday and was designated as OUT for the game.  In addition, Vaki and Nowaske, neither of whom have practiced all week, were available and will also miss the game.  This significantly impacts the Lions depth, as Jones was first OT off the bench, Vaki a key special teamer and versatile RB and Nowaske a reserve LB and key special teamer.    Thursday: Two changes for the Lions as Jamarco Jones was added to the report as a Limited Participant with an Ankle designation, but Kayode Awosika was upgraded to a full participant. The Lions interior OL depth gets stronger, while the OT depth gets a bit nicked up.    Wednesday:  The Lions injury list (Estimated due to Lions not practicing Wednesday) is significantly better, with only four players and none of them starters.  TeSLaa is the biggest name form the fans perspective, as he was mysteriously absent form practice in Tuesday, but is in the process of shaking off an illness and should be good to go by Sunday afternoon.  Vaki, Awosika and Nowaske all may be unavailable, but are mainly Special Team contributors and depth pieces for the Lions.

The second official injury report for Week 1 has mostly upgrades, but a new name also popped up today that impacts the depth of one team's OL. Changes from prior day are in Bolded Red   Packers Thursday:  Two major changes for the Packers, as starting CB Nate Hobbs and Starting WR Jayden reed both were upgraded from No Participation to Limited Participation.  No status change for LB Micah Parsons, but a report from this morning indicated he intended to play through his back injury against the Lions.   Wednesday:  The Packers have a grand total of nine players on the initial injury list, with five of them being starters. Jordan Love is the headliner, but I would expect him to play with a Full Practice designation. Jenkins and Parsons are up in the air, but its likely both will also push through their injuries and make the attempt to start. Reed and Hobbs have Knee/Foot injuries and did not proactive today, so it will be telling based on their status changes the next few days.  The rest f the group is primarily depth, but it is notable that the Packers have three WRs currently hobbled which could impact their depth and force Practice Squad call ups.   Lions Thursday: Two changes for the Lions as Jamarco Jones was added to the report as a Limited Participant with an Ankle designation, but Kayode Awosika was upgraded to a full participant. The Lions interior OL depth gets stronger, while the OT depth gets a bit nicked up.   Wednesday:  The Lions injury list (Estimated due to Lions not practicing Wednesday) is significantly better, with only four players and none of them starters.  TeSLaa is the biggest name form the fans perspective, as he was mysteriously absent form practice in Tuesday, but is in the process of shaking off an illness and should be good to go by Sunday afternoon.  Vaki, Awosika and Nowaske all may be unavailable, but are mainly Special Team contributors and depth pieces for the Lions.

The first official injury report has been released by the Lions and Bears and there are a few names that popped up unexpectedly and a couple of surprise full participants. Usually this would have been out earlier in the day, but the Bears were ~3 hours late in posting their list. Changes from prior day are in Bolded red  or green Bears Wednesday:  The Bears have eight players on the initial injury list, with four of them being starters. DL Grady Jarrett (NP), LB TJ Edwards (LP), WR DJ Moore (FP) and DB Jaylon Johnson (FP) are the starters listed, although it appears only Jackson and Edwards may miss the Lions game.  The other five players are all backups, although the Bears DB depth may be tested due to a total of three DBs appearing today.   Lions Wednesday:  The Lions injury list includes two unexpected names in Taylor Decker and Jack Campbell.  Both players finished the game against the Packers but missed practice today due to a Shoulder and Ankle injuries respectively. Tomorrow will give indication if this is serious, or just an extra day of rest for a couple of veterans. The good surprises were that Terrion Arnold (Groin) and Daniel Thomas (Hand), who both left the Packers game and did not return, were listed as full participants. Carryovers form last week, Trevor Nowaske (LP) and Sionne Vaki (LP) both improved form last report, while Kayode Awosika  and Isaac TeSlaa were not listed this week.

The second injury report had only one change on it, with a Lions starter upgraded and likely to play on Sunday. No other player on either team saw a designation change, so we will all have to be in suspense until tomorrow’s report with game designations drops. Changes from prior day are in Bolded red  or green Bears Thursday:    The Bears report had zero changes on it form yesterday’s estimate, so all designations were the same and what I wrote still holds.  Tomorrow will have game designations, so we will see if Jackson and Edwards are gonna give it a go.   Wednesday:  The Bears have eight players on the initial injury list, with four of them being starters. DL Grady Jarrett (NP), LB TJ Edwards (LP), WR DJ Moore (FP) and DB Jaylon Johnson (FP) are the starters listed, although it appears only Jackson and Edwards may miss the Lions game.  The other five players are all backups, although the Bears DB depth may be tested due to a total of three DBs appearing today.   Lions Thursday:  Virtually no change to the Lions practice report for Thursday, although Jack Campbell did get bumped up to a full participant, so he should be good to go Sunday.  Taylor Decker is a bit of a concern, as he was listed for second day in a row as No Practice.  However, Lions OC John Morton did say at his presser today that he expects Taylor Decker to play. Nowaske and Vaki are still limited, so tomorrow will tell us whether they are trending to b active or not.  Arnold and Thomas were full participants for second day in a row, suggesting no long-term effects form their game injury last week.   Wednesday:  The Lions injury list includes two unexpected names in Taylor Decker and Jack Campbell.  Both players finished the game against the Packers but missed practice today due to a Shoulder and Ankle injuries respectively. Tomorrow will give indication if this is serious, or just an extra day of rest for a couple of veterans. The good surprises were that Terrion Arnold (Groin) and Daniel Thomas (Hand), who both left the Packers game and did not return, were listed as full participants. Carryovers form last week, Trevor Nowaske (LP) and Sionne Vaki (LP) both improved form last report, while Kayode Awosika  and Isaac TeSlaa were not listed this week.