Lions inactives vs. Jets reveal 3 interesting lineup changes, including two rookies getting their shot
Detroit will be without Devin White, Bishop Fitzgerald and Ahmed Hassanein on Sunday, while Jimmy Rolder and Ennis Rakestraw are active for the first time this season. The Lions officially listed White, Fitzgerald and Hassanein among their inactives; Rolder is making his NFL debut and Rakestraw is active for the first time this year.
The Detroit Lions will play the New York Jets in just a couple of hours, but now we know who won’t be playing in this game, and there are some interesting things that this week’s inactives tell us.
Devin White is out; Jimmy Rolder will make his debut
White looked really good in camp and looked like he had totally stolen the starting WILL linebacker job from Malcolm Rodriguez. After two weeks, he’s struggled out there, and Rodriguez has played quite well. Look for him to get the start on Sunday, and now we know that fourth-round pick Jimmy Rolder will make his Lions debut in this one. My guess is we see him play something like 20 defensive snaps in this game.
Bishop Fitzgerald is out; that could open the door for more Keith Abney at safety
The Lions just got Fitzgerald earlier in the week, and it seemed like it would make sense that we would see him since Detroit is down multiple safeties, but the Lions are playing it safe with a guy who is not up to speed with this defense. Lions head coach Dan Campbell said on Friday that fifth-round rookie Keith Abney could get some looks at safety. It looks like that is totally happening.
Still no Ahmed Hassanein
Hassanein was dealing with an illness this week, but I still don’t understand why we have not seen this guy be active yet.
Ennis Rakestraw will be active for the first time this season
This is a big moment for him. If he can come out and ball out, he might be able to get on the right track and even steal a starting job from Rock Ya-Sin, who has struggled. Part of me wonders if this might also be the result of putting Abney at safety and the Lions just needing a cornerback to fill Abney’s spot. We’ll see what it looks like once the snap counts come out.
Detroit Lions News