3 Detroit Lions players who should be benched after Week 12 loss to the Packers

1. WR Josh Reynolds

To be fair to Reynolds, an injury revelation from back during the bye week, courtesy of the Detroit Free Press' Dave Birkett, points to the possibility he is not near 100 percent healthy. He was on the injury report heading into Week 5 with a groin injury, but has not shown up on any injury reports since.

Per Birkett, back in early-November.

Detroit Lions' Josh Reynolds ranks 3rd in the NFL in yards per catch and has not missed a game despite tearing an adductor muscle off the bone."

Reynolds had a touchdown catch on Thanksgiving Day, but it was his fourth straight game with less than 20 receiving yards. His snap share did drop a bit (64 percent), in line with Jameson Williams and Kalif Raymond playing a bit more than usual, but Reynolds still played more raw snaps (however narrowly) than Williams (54 to 53).

Much of Raymond's production against the Packers in Week 12 (a season-high 90 yards, on five catches) came when Green Bay was playing softer coverage with a two-score lead. But there's a solid case that "Leaf" should play more, and Reynolds not producing big plays like he was earlier in the season has left a void in the Lions' offense. Williams can certainly fill some of that void too, and it would be nice to see more from him as he stacks good games.

Reynolds' toughness to play through an adductor muscle that was torn off the bone is admirable, and his coaches and teammates have surely noticed. But for that reason or any other(s), he's not producing like he was early in the season. The Lions have options to at least reduce his snaps, if not give him a game or two off to fully heal if he (presumably) hasn't.

"Benching" might be too dramatic a word regarding what the Lions should do with Reynolds going forward. But he definitely fits the bill as someone worthy of being benched, for production and health reasons alone.