The Detroit Lions shut a couple players down for the season this week, placing defensive lineman Da'Shawn Hand (knee) and running back Kerryon Johnson (knee) on Reserve/Injured.
To fill a spot on the roster, the Lions announced Wednesday that they activated cornerback Jamal Agnew from Reserve/Injured - Designated to Return. Agnew has been on IR since injuring his knee Week 5 vs. Green Bay.
While Agnew is elligible to play this week vs. Minnesota, head coach Matt Patricia said they're still evaluating the situation.
"I think in the beginning part of the year and really through the spring, there was a lot of growth and a lot of development there, not only in special teams but on defense, which was great to see," Patricia said.
"He was someone that was helping us win early in the season and put us in a situation to at least be competitive, and that was good. He'll be up working this week to see where he's at. He obviously hasn't played football in a long time, so we can't really make any predictions there until we get a chance to take a look at it."
Agnew is listed as questionable on the injury report.
SLAY NAMED TO PRO BOWL
Cornerback Darius Slay was named to his second consecutive Pro Bowl, the NFL announced Tuesday evening.
"It felt good," Slay said Wednesday of hearing he made the Pro Bowl again. "Let's me know folks are watching film and understanding. I'm excited.
"My play has been good. Other than (the lack of picks), I've played pretty well. Competing all the time at a high level. I've been really clamping. Most of the time I have to go where the best guy goes. Competing at a high level. Making plays on some of the top guys in this league. I put in a lot of work to deserve this kind of achievement."
SOMETHING TO PLAY FOR
Sunday's loss in Buffalo officially eliminated the Lions from playoff contention.
"It just sucks," veteran linebacker Devon Kennard said after the game. "You play this game to be in the playoffs and try to win it all. To know that that's impossible it just sucks."
Even though the Lions are out of the playoffs, they still have a lot to play for, including pride.
"We still have something to play for," safety Glover Quin said. "As a professional football player we're trying to go out and we're trying to win. We have a home game next weekend so we owe it to our fans to get the win. It's against a divisional opponent that we play twice a year so we're going to see those same guys next year. It will be good to get a win.
"The last game of the season is Green Bay, obviously we want to go out on a good note and take that momentum over into the offseason. We just have to focus on up and go out and play and get a win."
This week's opponent, the Minnesota Vikings, are still in playoff contention and will be expecting Detroit's best.
"They're going to continue to play hard," Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said via conference call Wednesday. "These division games are always tough the second time around, so we won't really look at it like that. I watch all these games and I watch these teams and how hard they play, and we're going to have to go out and play good and hard in order to win."
OTHER NOTEWORTHY ITEMS
- Watch as the Detroit Lions deliver gifts to students of Bethune Elementary-Middle School as part of the organization's season of sharing.
- Catch up on all the news from Jim Bob Cooter and Paul Pasqualoni's Tuesday media sessions.
