The Detroit Lions could be one step closer to getting a key defensive back and special teams ace back on the field.
The Lions have suffered several injuries to their defense this season, with much of the pain concentrated in the secondary. One of the longstanding losses was cornerback and gunner Khalil Dorsey, who suffered a broken leg in Week 15 of last season and then a series of other injuries this year.
Now, after a long recovery process, the team announced that Dorsey is starting the process of returning to the field.
Lions Open Injury Evaluation Window for Khalil Dorsey
The Lions announced on Thursday that they opened the three-week evaluation window for Dorsey, who has been out since September.
Dorsey appeared in four games this season before suffering a concussion and a wrist injury while he was recovering. He appeared in 46% of Detroit’s special teams snaps, serving as the gunner on punt coverage unit.
The Lions now have until the Thurday prior to their Week 13 game against the Los Angeles Rams to either activate Dorsey or revert him to a season-ending injured reserve.
As Benjamin Raven of MLive.com noted, the Lions are close to getting some other key special teams players back after injuries.
“The Lions are getting a handful of defensive pieces back for the playoff push,” Raven reported. “Dorsey and the soon-to-be-returning Malcolm Rodriguez provide an immediate boost to Dave Fippâs special teams unit. Top cornerback D.J. Reed has a chance to play this weekend against the New York Giants. Veteran pass rusher Marcus Davenport has been back at practice for more than a week, as has Josh Paschal.”
The Lions are still facing other losses to their secondary, with safety Kerby Joseph and cornerback Terrion Arnold not yet able to return to practice.
Lions Catch Injury Break
The Lions could have some positive injury news going into this week’s game with the New York Giants. The Lions dropped out of the playoff bracket with last week’s loss, but will get the chance to rebound against a Giants team missing rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart.
Giants interim head coach Mike Kafka announced on Friday that Dart had not cleared concussion protocol and would be out for Sunday’s game against the Lions.
“[Dart’s] just in the protocol. He’s working through that phasing of it,” Kafka said, via ESPN. “Based on the testing and the results, we’re declaring him out for this week.”
The Giants will turn to well-traveled veteran Jameis Winston, with Kafka saying the team just wants their rookie quarterback to focus on getting healthy.
“My only concern was just making sure Jaxson’s healthy and right,” Kafka said. “And again, we have a lot of trust in the doctors. We have a lot of trust in that process, going through the concussion process. I know myself, I’ve had a couple concussions over the course of my career, and you just want to feel comfortable and good.”
The Lions are looking to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time in more than three years, needing a win to climb back into a wild-card spot in the NFC.
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