JUST IN: Lions lose another defensive lineman to injured reserve

By
Rob Otto
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The Lions already depleted defensive line took another hit on Sunday.

Detroit announced today that defensive tackle Jordan Hill has been placed on Injured Reserve. The team says Hill injured his bicep in the 30-28 preseason loss on Friday night.

Hill was signed as a free agent in March from the Jacksonville Jaguars after playing his first three years in the NFL for the Seattle Seahawks. He was excepted to add some depth behind starters Haloti Ngata and A’Shawn Robinson.

The Lions defensive line has already seen its share of injury. Defensive end Ziggy Ansah is on the preseason PUP list and DE Kerry Hyder is lost for the season with an Achilles injury suffered in the preseason opener.

The loss of a backup like Hill may not seem very severe, but Detroit likes to shuffle defensive tackles in and out of games to try and keep everyone fresh. Now the DL depth chart doesn’t look very deep at all:

  • Akeem Spence had only 18 tackles over the last two seasons in Tampa Bay.
  • Khyri Thornton did start six games for Detroit last season but must serve a six-game suspension for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy. He will not be available until October 29.
  • Rookie Jeremiah Ledbetter was drafted in the sixth round out of Arkansas.
  • Ego Ferguson sounds made up but is actually a real person. He hasn’t taken a snap in a real game since 2015, and that was at defensive end.
  • Derrick Lott has yet to play a snap in an NFL game despite bouncing around with Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, and Oakland over the last three years.

A few seasons ago, the Lions defensive line was considered their top unit. Now it looks more like a M.A.S.H. unit.