Detroit Lions: Two shocking names land on inactives list
The Detroit Lions have released their inactives list for their home opener against the New York Jets. And there are two pretty surprising names listed.
The Detroit Lions will kick off their regular season Monday night at home against the New York Jets. And they’ll do so without two of their more well-publicized players.
Prior to the Week One matchup, the Lions released their inactives list. These are players who made the 53-man roster cut last weekend but are not part of the active 46 players who are eligible to participate in the primetime contest.
According to Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com, that inactive list includes reserve tackle Andrew Donnal, guard Joe Dahl, cornerback Dee Virgin, defensive end Romeo Okwara, and rookie wide receiver Brandon Powell.
But there are two more names Lions fans might be shocked to see. Both defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson and running back Ameer Abdullah are also on the inactives list and appear to be healthy scratches. That’s surprising considering that both were starters for Detroit just last season.
In fact, Abdullah even got the starting nod in the Lions’ second preseason game. And throughout the preseason itself, Ameer was heavily used both as a running back and as a special teams returner. Now that he’s been made wholly inactive for Detroit’s first regular season contest of the year, it appears the Lions’ goal was apparently to showcase the former second rounder in order to help facilitate a possible trade.
As for Robinson, another former second rounder, the once-promising defensive tackle entering into his third season was expected to play a big part in new head coach Matt Patricia’s defensive scheme. But now the 23-year old has clearly been leapfrogged on the depth chart by newcomers Ricky Jean-Francois, Sylvester Williams, and rookie Da’Shawn Hand.
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Both Ameer Abdullah and A’Shawn Robinson could both be on the trading block in Detroit with this latest move. Or this could simply be a case where the Lions value other players due to the matchup, needs at other positions and/or on special teams.