Reinforcements to the banged-up Detroit Lions defense could be on the way very soon. No, the Lions aren’t dealing for (insert pie-in-the-sky name here) before the trade deadline. It’s coming from within the Lions’ own den.
Head coach Dan Campbell gave an optimistic update on two Lions defenders who are currently on the injured reserve list, cornerback Khalil Dorsey and end Josh Paschal. Both are now eligible to come off I.R. for the Week 6 trip to Tampa Bay.
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“Yeah, I would say they’re both close,” Campbell said Monday. “And if I was going to pick one, it’d probably be (Dorsey) Dorse before Paschal, but they’re both really, really close. And Paschal’s close too.”
Dorsey has been out since Week 1 with an undisclosed illness that landed him on I.R. After being a somewhat surprising inclusion on the 53-man roster, Dorsey played extensively (and well) on special teams in Week 1 before going down with the sickness. He played well as an outside CB in the preseason and would be a welcome return now that Emmanuel Moseley is lost for the season after just two plays.
Paschal had three tackles, including a critical third-down TFL, in the Week 1 win over Kansas City. He “tweaked” a knee injury during the victory, Campbell said after the game, and has been on I.R. since.