This week’s roster changes for the Lions were minimal; the most notable ones were the activation of James Houston from injured reserve and the release of Julian Okwara. Detroit now has 55 men on the pitch for the game after the Lions promoted defensive tackle Tyson Alualu and fullback Jason Cabinda from the practice squad.
Houston will not play in this game because the Lions do not believe he is ready to be a reliable contributor, even though he was activated this week. He’s going to miss games until he shows on the practice pitch that he’s ready to play.
The Lions are able to increase their game-day roster from 47 to 48 players since they will have eight offensive linemen available for Sunday’s contest. Consequently, with 55 players on the game-day roster and 48 eligible to play, the Lions need to declare seven players inactive for today’s matchup.
Hooker will once again be the Lions emergency quarterback, meaning he will be inactive for today’s game unless both of Detroit’s other options at quarterback are lost due to injury. In that case, Hooker would be allowed to become active and could enter the game.
Raymond’s absence once again opens the door for Donovan Peoples-Jones, who stepped into the WR4 and punt returner role last week.
Like last week, the Lions are resting two of their six edge rushers (James Houston and Charles Harris), veteran safety Tracy Walker, as well as rookies Brodric Martin and Steven Gilmore.
