The Detroit Lions have to dig deep into their bench on the defensive side of the ball in Week 5. With injuries piling up on that end, similar to what fans saw last season, the Lions will be relying on their depth against the Cincinnati Bengals to keep their winning streak alive.
The concerns in the secondary are the most pressing. DJ Reed landed on the injured reserve, and Kerby Joseph has not practiced this week. While Terrion Arnold and Khalil Dorsey returned to practice on Thursday and look to be available on Sunday, the Lions have to do some juggling in the defensive backfield. Going up against the Ja'Marr Chase-Tee Higgins duo, this will be an incredibly important aspect of the game.
Lions May Be Regretting Their Secondary Depth Ahead of Week 5
It has also likely made the Lions regret one acquisition made during the offseason. Rock Ya-Sin, who was brought in to be a backup cornerback in the offseason, will be the presumptive starter in Week 5. Given how he has looked so far this season, one has to wonder whether Detroit should have targeted a more reliable and proven backup option in the offseason.
Ya-Sin has been a seldom-used depth piece over the last two seasons. With both the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers, he was more heavily utilized as a special teamer than a cornerback. With the 49ers, he only played 62 defensive snaps last season. In those snaps, he had the worst stint of his career, finishing with a 44.2 overall defensive grade from Pro Football Focus. The season before that, he allowed the highest passer rating in coverage of his career with the Ravens.
This clear downward trajectory before signing with the Lions raised questions about how much gas was left in Ya-Sin's tank. Instead of a younger, more athletic corner, relying on a 29-year-old with limited defensive snaps over the last few seasons was always a risk, and it could come back to bite the Lions in Reed's absence.
Ya-Sin started and played significant snaps during the preseason, where he had an up-and-down performance in four games. He had his moments, though, which earned him a spot in the final 53-man roster. His 18 defensive snaps in the regular season so far are too small a sample size to really make a judgment. Yet, with how much Detroit will have to rely on Ya-Sin now, the coaching staff and front office surely wish that they had someone with a higher upside taking over as the starter.
Amik Robertson, Khalil Dorsey, and Avonte Maddox will surely take on a larger role now as well. If any of them looks good on the outside, there is definitely a scenario in which they take the job over from Ya-Sin until Reed returns. Which direction Dan Campbell and Kelvin Sheppard will go remains to be seen.