The Detroit Lions are in a tough spot ahead of Week 3. With a game against the New York Jets on the horizon (who just pushed the Green Bay Packers to overtime, only to lose), the Lions could be in for another close contest against an objectively not-as-strong competitor.
One area that the team must improve at is at cornerback and safety. Their secondary has struggled mightily to begin this season, and there's no sign of relief. The only players that the Lions could hope to see return and make an impact on their defense are Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph, but that can't be enough.
The team is going to be working out three defensive backs on Monday - Jordan Fuller, former Lion Jalen Mills, and Mike Edwards - per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. Those are two potential depth adds, and neither should be expected to start for the Lions. That's not a great strategy from general manager Brad Holmes.
Lions working out two DBs that don't solve current problems in secondary
With Avonte Maddox having gone down pretty early in the Lions' loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 2, they do need to add some safety depth. Fuller makes sene on that front. In his last healthy season - in 2023 - he finished up with three interceptions, eight passes defended, two stuffs, and 94 total tackles. He dealt with injuries in 2025 that held him to just six games with the Atlanta Falcons.
Mills was a part of the Lions in 2025 for a brief stint, playing in 3 games for the then-injured riddled squad. However, he made very little impact in his time here - just one pass defended and six tackles through those three games. And, his last truly impactful season was in 2017 with the Philadelphia Eagles. That's when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, in safety years.
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Fuller could be a decent addition while we still wait to hear what is happening with Branch and Joseph in regard to their return timeline, but Mills would just be another pointless signing when the team could also just call up Nick Whiteside or Aamaris Brown from the practice squad as an emergency back up safety.
Edwards is a seven-year veteran who, like Fuller, hasn't had a completely healthy season since 2023. Clearly, former potential that has been quelled by injury is simply Holmes' bread and butter.
The Jets don't have nearly as potent of a passing game as the Bills do, but that doesn't mean they're not a threat to the Lions' secondary. They have some great options at tight end, which was something that bit the Lions repeatedly on defense against Buffalo, and they have a lengthy, great receiver in Garrett Wilson they'll need to contain all game.
That doesn't feel like a safe bet. Holmes should be laser focused, then, on bringing in legitimate starting help at cornerback at the very least.
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