The Lions have ruled out a pair of players who were listed as questionable to face the Rams on Friday’s injury report.
Safety Thomas Harper will not play on Sunday. Harper is recovering from a concussion and his absence further thins out a safety group that will be without Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph this weekend. Avonte Maddox, Daniel Thomas, and Jalen Mills are on the active roster while Erick Hallett and Damontae Kazee could be elevated from the practice squad.
The Lions also announced that guard Christian Mahogany will not be activated from injured reserve. He has a fibula injury.
The Lions still have guard Kayode Awosika (foot), left tackle Taylor Decker (shoulder), wide receiver Kalif Raymond (ankle), running back Sione Vaki (thumb), and tight end Shane Zylstra (knee) listed as questionable for Sunday.
The Dolphins placed linebacker Caleb Johnson on injured reserve, the team announced Friday.
Johnson injured his shoulder in Sunday’s 34-10 win over the Jets.
He played 22 snaps in two games and totaled two tackles.
The Dolphins used Caleb Johnson’s roster spot to sign safety Isaiah Johnson from the practice squad. Isaiah Johnson, a college cornerback at Dartmouth and Syracuse, was converted to safety this season.
He has spent time on the team’s practice squad the past two seasons and has played in three games this season. Thus, he is out of game-day elevations.
The Dolphins also re-acquired tight end Hayden Rucci after his release from the Lions, signing him to the practice squad. The team waived Rucci on Nov. 29, and the Lions claimed him before waiving him this week.
Wide receiver Davante Adams will be listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Lions, but the team really considers him probable.
Adams is dealing with a hamstring injury that kept him out of practice on Wednesday and Thursday. Head coach Sean McVay told reporters on Friday that Adams is set to be a limited participant in Friday’s practice and that he is expected to play on Sunday despite the questionable tag.
Adams has 56 catches for 718 yards and a league-high 14 touchdown catches this season.
McVay also said that the team plans to activate wide receiver Tutu Atwell from injured reserve. Atwell has been on injured reserve due to a hamstring injury.
The Lions hoped to get safety Kerby Joseph back from a knee injury for this Sunday’s game against the Rams, but that is looking unlikely on Friday.
Head coach Dan Campbell told reporters at his press conference that Joseph had a setback during practice this week and he doesn’t feel “as good” about his chances of playing as a result. Campbell also said that Joseph could be a candidate for injured reserve and, with four games left in the season, that would make the postseason the only potential return date.
Joseph has not played since Week 6 and this week’s development comes after the Lions lost Brian Branch for the rest of the season to a torn Achilles.
Avonte Maddox, Daniel Thomas, Thomas Harper, and Jalen Mills are the other safety options on the 53-man roster in Detroit.
The NFL Players Association announced on Friday that Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams has been named their Community MVP for Week 15.
Williams held an event last week to provide 250 winter coats to students associated with DBG Detroit, an organization that offers mentorship, educational support and other resources to students in the area. Williams’ foundation also helped fund a $10,000 donation to the organization. Williams also hosted Thanksgiving and Halloween events for families in Detroit.
“I’m excited to be selected as the NFLPA Community MVP. I do things in the communities that I am connected to because it is important to me that young people are able to see they can make something of themselves with hard work too,” Williams said in a statement. “It also is important to me to help families that are less fortunate because you never know how much of a difference that one thing I do might help them.”
The NFLPA will donate $10,000 to a nonprofit of Williams’s choice and he will join the other weekly MVPs in being eligible for the Alan Page Award at the end of the year.
