Lions Inactives Against Saints: Will Cornerback Play, Four Draft Picks Out

The Detroit Lions have officially released their list of players who will not participate against the New Orleans Saints.

Only defensive back Christian Izien was listed on the Friday injury designation report as being questionable for the opening contest at Ford Field.

The coaching staff made the decision that he will not play agains the New Orleans Saints.

Ennis Rakestraw, Ahmed Hassanein, Jimmy Rolder and Mekhi Wingo were also listed as inactive.

Dan Campbell indicated that the Lions playing again on Thursday next week factored in to the decision regarding Izien playing in the season-opener.

Rookie defensive end Derrick Moore is active and will make his NFL debut after a solid week of practice.

Second-year defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard expressed this week that it takes time for a defensive scheme to take shape.

Additional Detroit Lions NFL Insider Analysis: How To Watch, Listen, Stream 2026 Season-Opener at Ford Field

With several players returning, there is an expectation the unit will execute better and be much more consistent against the run.

The former NFL linebacker explained if he needed to changed how he teaches the ‘whys’ to the defensive players or if the players have more experience in the defense.

“No, I wouldn't even, I think it's just come with time," said Sheppard. "You look at the historical great defenses, I'm talking about the historic. When I say historic great, over time, 20 years, 30 years where guys have played pretty good defense at an organization, it's been carryover in scheme. You look at Baltimore, you look at Pittsburgh. I mean, (Browns senior defensive assistant) Dom Capers, me and Dom talked about that when I was afforded the opportunity to work side by side with him. It's the carryover in scheme.

So now, it's not so much time on task trying to get guys to know their assignment. It's now the nuances within it, understanding how teams are going to attack this, understanding the weak points," Sheppard commented further. "Understanding why we're asking you on this play to leverage it versus spill it and so on and so forth. It's just the depths that you're able to get to that takes time. That's with anything really.”

Lions' Week 1 Inactives List

S Christian Izien
CB Ennis Rakestraw Jr.
LB Jimmy Rolder
EDGE Ahmed Hassanein
DT Mekhi Wingo

#NOvsDET inactives pic.twitter.com/GYpK7giflH
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) September 13, 2026

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