Allen Park — The players are off during the bye week, but the Detroit Lions front office continues to make necessary adjustments to the team’s roster.
On Friday, the Lions officially shifted three players to injured reserve — Wide receiver Tom Kennedy, linebacker Devin White and offensive lineman Ben Bartch.
Kennedy and White were anticipated moves after each suffered a serious injury in the team’s Week 5 victory over Arizona. Kennedy’s season is over with a knee injury that will require surgery.
Meanwhile, White suffered a broken forearm, although the expectation is he’ll be able to return later this season.
Bartch’s inclusion in the day’s transactions is an acknowledgement his foot injury isn’t calming down the way the team anticipated, given he’d already missed the past three games. It’s an aggravation from playing too much, too quickly on the foot he had surgically repaired after suffering a Lisfranc break last year.
The three roster spots open room for the pending activation of center Cade Mays and safety Brian Branch, who are both expected to debut in the team’s Week 7 contest against Green Bay.
The final opening is likely earmarked for a return man to replace Kennedy, who was handling punts and kickoffs for the Lions prior to going down.
After coach Dan Campbell said on Monday that the team would explore outside options for the role, the Lions worked out receivers Steven Sims and DeAndre Carter on Thursday and are reportedly signing the latter to the practice squad, according to former NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero.
Carter, 33, brings a wealth of experience in return roles, handling 299 kickoffs and punts during his lengthy career, averaging 9.7 yards on punts and 23.6 yards on kickoffs.
He’ll enter an in-house mix that also includes practice squad receivers Dominic Lovett, Lucky Jackson and Lawrence Keys.
The Lions opened up a spot on the practice squad when they released veteran safety Jalen Mills earlier in the week.
We don’t necessarily need to fill the 53rd spot with a returner, we could just as easily elevate one. We’ll find out soon enough.
So Mills is starting next week?