The Detroit Lions moved veteran defensive end Da’Shawn Hand to the active roster from injured reserve on Saturday, and Hand is active and expected to make his 2021 debut today as the Lions host the Philadelphia Eagles at Ford Field.
Hand, who's in his fourth year with Detroit, has struggled with injuries throughout the early portion of his career. He missed three games as a rookie in 2018, 13 games in 2019, six games last year and has missed the first seven games of this season with a groin injury suffered in training camp. Hand was having a terrific camp and preseason before the injury. It's unclear just how much he'll play today, but he gives Detroit even more quality depth on an already deep defensive line.
Detroit had five players listed as questionable on Friday's injury report – outside linebacker Trey Flowers (knee), cornerback Jerry Jacobs (illness), cornerback AJ Parker (neck), running back D’Andre Swift (groin) and running back Jamaal Williams (thigh) – and the team will be without two of those players today.
Both Williams and Parker are inactive.
Williams is the thunder to Detroit's thunder and lightning duo, and he's Detroit's leading rusher on the year with 312 yards. Williams suffered a thigh injury this week. He wasn't listed on Detroit's Wednesday practice report, but showed up on both reports Thursday and Friday as a limited participant. The injury will force him to miss his first game of season. Expect Swift to handle the bulk of the duties in the backfield, though we could see rookie Jermar Jefferson get his first carries.
Parker was probably the most iffy of the group earlier in the week after leaving in the second half of Detroit's loss in Los Angeles with a neck injury and not returning. He progressed throughout the week, but not enough to be active today. The Lions will have a new starting nickel cornerback for the first time this year.
Joining Williams and Parker on Detroit's inactive list are: Wide receiver Geronimo Allison, tight end Darren Fells, defensive end Jashon Cornell and outside linebacker Jessie Lemonier.
