The Lions placed veteran DE James Hall and 2006 3rd round draft pick RB Brian Calhoun on the injured reserve list yesterday. The loss of Hall, who has been the team's most consistent pass rusher, is particularly damaging.
The Lions thin defensive line rotation, once considered the team's strongest personnel group, is becoming extremely patchwork in orientation. Earlier in the season, the Lions needed to place second year DE Bill Swancutt, whom the team had high hopes for due to his consistent, high level of effort, on injured reserve. DT Shaun Cody has recently missed several games since injuring his toe against Minnesota. With the additional loss of Hall, the Lions have to be increasingly disappointed in All-Pro DT Shaun Rogers for failing a league administered drug test.
The injuries to the Lions defensive front does provide opportunity to several players like DE's Kalimba Edwards and Jared DeVries and DT Cleveland Pinkney to establish their future worth to the organization. The Lions also added former San Francisco DE Corey Smith (after placing Hall on IR), who will now be given the opportunity to gain some playing time.
The Lions also added veteran return specialist and 3rd down back Aveion Cason, who has previously played with both the Rams (while coached by Mike Martz) and the Lions. Cason's versatility is valuable, but heaven forbid RB Kevin Jones sustain any significant injury. I hate to imagine a Lions backfield that would feature a combo of Aveion Cason and Arlen Harris. In regards to Calhoun, he never contributed much for the Lions this year. Considering his high draft selection, and the Lions need for quality depth throughout their roster, Calhoun's selection in the third round becomes increasingly dubious as the season marches on.
