Detroit Lions Place Three Players On Injured Reserve List

Detroit Lions have multiple open spots on the 53-man active roster.

Detroit Lions wide receiver Tom Kennedy (85) looks on before the game against the Buffalo Bills | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Detroit Lions have made a decision on three injured players, opening up multiple spots on the 53-man active roster.

According to the team, wideout Tom Kennedy, offensive lineman Ben Bartch and linebacker Devin White have all been placed on the injured reserve list.

Detroit recently added veteran returner DeAndre Carter to the practice squad, paving the way for the 33-year-old to possibly be elevated to be the teams punt returner against the Green Bay Packers next week.

While the team wanted left guard Christian Mahogany to compete for the starting job, Bartch was not able to stay healthy long enough to make it any sort of competition. It appears that when Cade Mays returns, Juice Scruggs will be the player to continuously push the third-year lineman.

Head coach Dan Campbell delivered the bad news about Kennedy, when he last spoke to local reporters prior to the teams Week 6 bye.

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“No, Tom, bad news," said Campbell. "All right, Tom's going to need surgery. So, it was significant enough to where he'll be out for the season. That's the stinker there. We already talked about (Lions linebacker) Devin White. He'll require surgery, but we'll get him back at some point. It'll just be a while. As of right now, I don't have an answer for you on contingency. I would rather not have (Lions wideout Amon-Ra) St. Brown back there for a whole game taking punts.

"I see him, he'll probably have some depending on where we're at on the field, but I don't want him to be our full-time punt returner," Campbell commented further. "So, we've got a couple of in-house candidates. We're looking for some guys, Brad (Holmes), and then we're looking right now to see what's out there, what's available. So, luckily we're not crunched to have to do anything just yet, but we're already looking.”

With White out of the lineup, players like Malcolm Rodriguez, Trevor Nowaske and rookie Jimmy Rolder will have an opportunity to earn more playing time.

While the linebackers unit had a rebound game against the Cardinals, their play to start to the 2026 season has not lived up to expectations.

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