Lions Place Safety on IR, Elevate LB, Safety From Practice Squad

The Detroit Lions have officially announced their Week 3 practice squad elevations, ahead of a key home contest against the New York Jets.

According to the team, safety Jalen Mills and linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga have been elevated from the practice squad this week.

The team also placed safety Thomas Harper on injured reserve after previously ruling him out this week due to an ankle injury.

He was added to the practice squad roster as a result of the season-ending injury to veteran Avonte Maddox. Starters Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch remain on the Physically Unable to Perform list due to knee and Achilles injuries, respectively.

Bishop Fitzgerald was added to the roster off of the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad this week, as the unit is a little thin currently.

Monday meeting

Defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard met with the defensive roster on Monday to go over the first two of the season and the disappointing play from the unit he leads.

"Oh, it was very healthy. Like I said, it wasn't Coach Shepp being honest," Sheppard said. "It was more so in that meeting the players being honest because outright they were forced to. ‘No, I want to hear you. You tell me.’ Because that's the only way at the point where to get the answer. A coach can stand up here. I told you just like you're only as good as the tape says. We know what we have and what we feel like is one of the best things in the league. Guys, I’ve got an interesting stat for you guys. Dan (Campbell) shared with the team because he wanted it to be in front of everyone.

"One of the hardest things in this league to do defensively is get a team in 2nd-and-7-plus. That's what everybody wants in this League, guys, to be honest with you as a coordinator and kind of opposite as an offense. You don't want to live in that world, 2nd-and-7-plus, 3rdand-7-plus. Well, we forced teams into 37 of those in two games."

Sheppard and the coaching staff tried to identify issues causing explosive plays and also shared with the unit what they believe has been a positive to start the 2026 season.

"The next best defense has been the Minnesota Vikings with 34. So, we've gotten a team in 2nd-and-7-plus 37 times, but it's there where the issues arise," said Sheppard. "So okay, first-down we feel like has been very efficient for us defensively. Alright, so let's dig deep. What are we really doing in that 2nd-and-7-plus window? What are we doing when we have teams behind the sticks? But more importantly, what are they doing to us? What are they identifying? What are they seeing when they turn that tape on that they're having so much success with and showing the players? Guys, you're doing the hard stuff. On first-down, we're knocking it out. Now let's take advantage of those situations and those moments that we should thrive in to be honest with you as a defense.”

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