The Detroit Lions announced Saturday that they have elevated safety Jalen Mills for their Sunday night game against the Carolina Panthers in Week 4.
It’s the second straight week Mills has been called up from the practice squad as the Lions navigate a bevy of injuries at safety. Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph remain on the physically unable to perform list, while Avonte Maddox and Thomas Harper went on injured reserve last week. The good news for the Lions is that Branch’s return seems imminent.
“He’s close. Yeah, he’s close,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said earlier this week. “He’s ready to go. [I’m] it’s tiring to listen to him. So, I mean that in a good way. Man, he’s put in a ton of work, and he looks so good. He is near.”
Mills joins starters Chuck Clark and Christian Izien, who played well last week against the Jets, but the Lions secondary remains a problem and has struggled through the first three weeks of the season.
Mills, who rejoined the Lions’ practice squad before Week 3, adds another experienced body (122 games, 92 starts) to a defense in need of stability.