Allen Park — The Detroit Lions have placed Dan Jackson on injured reserve after the rookie safety suffered what the team announced as a leg injury during Sunday’s practice.
A seventh-round pick, Jackson was viewed as the early front-runner in a four-player competition for the team’s fourth safety job.
A seventh-round pick out of Georgia, Jackson had been primarily repping with the second-team defense during the first two weeks of practice. He saw significant work in last week’s Hall of Fame game, logging 36 defensive snaps and another 13 on special teams. He finished the game with six tackles, including four solo stops.
Jackson’s injury will be season-ending unless the Lions reach an injury settlement with the defender in the next seven days. If that happens, he’d be free to sign with another team immediately or re-sign with Detroit after the expiration of the injury settlement, which is individually negotiated between the two sides based on an agreed recovery timetable.
With Jackson out, the competition for a job is presumably between Loren Strickland, Morice Norris and Ian Kennelly. Strickland and Norris had stints on Detroit’s 53-man roster as undrafted rookies last year. Kennelly, meanwhile, is a local product who played for Grand Valley State and went undrafted this offseason.
Detroit also introduced cornerback Rock Ya-Sin to the mix over the weekend. However, it was the first time the veteran logged snaps at the position since high school.
In addition to Jackson, the Lions also waived running back Kye Robichaux with an injury designation and signed cornerback D.J. Miller.
Miller, a former Iowa State and Kent State defender, went undrafted a year ago. The 5-foot-10, 185-pounder showed impressive leaping ability and change-of-direction quickness during pre-draft testing.
Most recently, he was with the Michigan Panthers of the UFL. He appeared in 10 games last season, recording two interceptions, eight pass breakups and 29 tackles.
Injuries with every practice What gives?
Can you explain this more? Can’t he go on IR for 4+ weeks?
“Jackson’s injury will be season-ending unless the Lions reach an injury settlement with the defender in the next seven days. If that happens, he’d be free to sign with another team immediately or re-sign with Detroit after the expiration of the injury settlement, which is individually negotiated between the two sides based on an agreed recovery timetable.”