The Detroit Lions meet the New York Giants at Ford Field on Sunday as they look to bounce back from their loss to the Philadelphia Eagles and keep pace with the Chicago Bears, who now sit atop the NFC North.
The Lions have already caught some breaks in the form of injuries to key members of the Giants' roster, Jaxson Dart has been ruled out with a concussion leaving the team with Jameis Winston under center. While the injury bug is biting New York's roster hard, Detroit is set to welcome back two key contributors on the defensive side of the ball for Sunday afternoon's game, which could ultimately shake up the starting lineup.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, the Lions are activating veteran CBs DJ Reed and Khalil Dorsey from the IR ahead of Week 12's tilt in the Motor City.
DJ Reed's Return Could Spell End of Amik Robertson's Time as a Starter
Amik Robertson has started in six of the 10 games he has appeared in this season, giving Detroit his best effort week in and week out. Unfortunately, his best has been relatively below average to this point in the 2025 campaign, as his overall Pro Football Focus grade of 56.2 shows, leaving the door plenty open for Reed to quickly ascend to the top of the depth chart now that he's been activated from the IR.
Comparatively speaking, Reed has a Pro Football Focus grade of 71.8, good enough for 17th best among all qualifying cornerbacks, despite only being on the field for 212 snaps. This isn't a scenario where Dan Campbell will have to choose between a hot hand and a returning veteran. Robertson did what he was asked to do to fill in while Detroit's secondary got ravaged by injuries; now he can return to the depth role he is better suited to fill.
The return of Reed, and Dorsey for that matter, couldn't come at a better time for the Lions. While they do have a favorable matchup on their home field against a struggling Giants roster this Sunday, the rest of their 2025 slate is a murderers' row of current playoff teams or hopefuls who are still alive and looking to break through.
Given the offensive attacks that the Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers, Chicago Bears, and Minnesota Vikings possess, these defensive reinforcements could not be arriving at a better time for Detroit.