Allen Park — The Detroit Lions made a handful of moves Saturday afternoon to address some depth issues on the roster heading into Sunday’s divisional game against the Minnesota Vikings. The team signed offensive lineman Ross Pierschbacher to the active roster, while temporarily elevating linebacker Jarrad Davis and cornerback Jarren Williams off the practice squad.
To make room for Pierschbacher, the team shifted rookie corner Chase Lucas to injured reserve. He suffered a hamstring injury during the week of practice.
The Lions needed the three additions with injury issues along the offensive line, at linebacker and in the secondary. The team is expecting to be without starting right guard Evan Brown for the third consecutive game because of an ankle sprain, and Kayode Awosika, who started in place of Brown the past two weeks, has also been ruled out with an ankle injury.
Davis, the team’s 2017 first-round pick, helps fill the void created by Derrick Barnes’ absence. The second-year linebacker, who has been playing the best football of his young career, has been ruled out because of a knee injury.
This will be Davis’ second appearance since he rejoined the Lions this season. He recorded two tackles and broke up a pass playing 12 defensive snaps in the team’s 31-30 victory over Chicago last month.
Williams, meanwhile, will help address Detroit’s concerns at cornerback. In addition to Lucas landing on injured reserve, starting nickelback Will Harris is questionable for the Vikings game with a hip injury that kept him out of Friday’s practice.
Williams, who went undrafted out of Albany in 2020, is in his third season. He joined Detroit’s practice squad at the end of November. In 2021, he appeared in six games for the New York Giants, logging nearly 200 defensive snaps.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers