The Detroit Lions have had to change their plans at cornerback multiple times this season. Kelvin Sheppard's defense is a work in progress, but it became painfully clear that they needed to make some tweaks after a dreadful start to the season.
Notably, demoting veteran Rock Ya-Sin to the bench seemed to work like a charm. He was struggling mightily, and it wasn't much of a coincidence to see the secondary trend up when his snap count went down.
But now, with D.J. Reed missing Week 9 with an injury, Ya-Sin may have done just enough in the 19-9 win over the Miami Dolphins to live for another day. He may have convinced the Lions to hold onto him for a little longer.
Lions may not get rid of Rock Ya-Sin after a solid performance in Week 9
Ya-Sin was on the field for 38 defensive snaps, including 20 in coverage. While he gave up a reception on his lone target, that catch went for six yards, and it wasn't even a first down. He was pretty flawless after that.
The veteran cornerback finished the game with a couple of tackles and run stops. The team desperately needed someone to step up in Reed's absence, and while he was the weakest link on paper, the Dolphins didn't make the most of it.
The Lions have needed help at cornerback all year long, so some may have found it tough to believe that they were ever interested in parting ways with Ya-Sin to begin with. That's fair, but they have already benched him, and with teams always looking for veterans at the position, who's to say they wouldn't have cut him loose had someone come knocking with an offer?
Hopefully, though, Ya-Sin's performance won't be enough to convince general manager Brad Holmes to keep him ahead of the November 10 trade deadline. It was nice to see him have a solid game for a change, but this team should definitely be active in the market for a cornerback.
Guys like Kristian Fulton, Donte Jackson, Nahshon Wright, Alontae Taylor, Amani Hooker, and even Riq Woolen can probably be had, and any of them could be the missing piece this team needs to get to the next level.
Whatever the case, props to Coach Sheppard and the Lions for turning things around on defense after having one of the worst pass defenses in recent history in the first month of the season.
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