A torn ACL last season kept cornerback Emmanuel Moseley from getting more than a one-year deal in free agency, and the Detroit Lions gave it to him as they rebuilt their secondary. Week 1 felt like a possibility for him to be ready to go.
Moseley starting training camp on the PUP list was not alarming, but the report from Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press that he'd had a "clean up" procedure on the injured knee was concerning. Then he more recently added a hamstring injury to his ACL recovery, further delaying his Lions' debut.
Based on Dan Campbell's comments on Tuesday, it doesn't seem like Moseley will play Thursday night against the Green Bay Packers.
"E-man is doing well. It's just a matter of -- Brad (Holmes) and I have talked about that -- is it time or do we wait until next week to see where he's at, since we can't really practice this week, other than full speed walkthrough."
So Week 5 against the Carolina Panthers looks more likely to be Moseley's season debut. Campbell et al understandably want to see him get through a normal practice week unscathed before deeming him ready to play.
Dan Campbell outlines the plan for Emmanuel Moseley when he's able to play
Jerry Jacobs won the competition to start opposite Cameron Sutton by default due to Moseley's issues, but he also had a nice rebound showing in Week 3 to help re-solidify his place. But Moseley will of course play when he's able. Via Kyle Meinke of MLive, Campbell outlined a fairly obvious plan for him,
"That’ll be the plan, is work him (Moseley) in,” “I think more than anything, it’ll probably be by series. Certainly give him a couple in a row to where he gets a good feel. I think probably most of it will be we’ll put a governor on his reps so we’re smart about that as he comes back. Then really from there, it’s really, how does he feel? What’s his body saying? And then it’s just about getting into conditioning, like the rest of the guys have done over time.”
Jacobs ranks 91st of 105 eligible cornerbacks so far this season, according to Pro Football Focus grades. But he's going to just lay down and let Moseley take his job, with Campbell also noted.
"Certainly (Moseley’s) got to prove he’s worth those reps,” Campbell said. “But I think everybody feels pretty good as he goes out there, he’s going to get his legs back under him quick. But we’ll see where that goes. The good news if it’s not quite there yet, we still have Jerry. And we battle it out. We’re fortunate to have both those guys.”