After seeing safety Brian Branch suffer a season-ending Achilles injury in last week’s win over the Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions fans immediately wondered what the team might do to replace him.
For the Lions, this is the last thing they wanted to think about, as they’re still without Kerby Joseph, who is battling a knee injury, forcing Thomas Harper Jr. into action. With that being said, the easiest answer to who could fill the void for Branch is Avonte Maddox, who stepped in for an injured Harper in Week 14 and played well.
And it's likely Lions head coach Dan Campbell will go in that direction, as he had nothing but good things to say about Maddox’s performance. However, the Lions understand that one guy will not replace Branch, and they need a reinforcement or two for the final stretch of the regular season.
On Tuesday, the Lions announced that they claimed veteran safety Jalen Mills off waivers from the Houston Texans and cut tight end Hayden Rucci to make room on the 53-man roster.
Jalen Mills Could Quickly Play Huge Role Down the Stretch for the Lions
When NFL teams make waiver claims this late in the season, most fans don’t give much thought to it. The hope is that they will suit up and play, but as we saw in the case of Rucci, he was there to provide depth at a position that was banged up (tight end).
This likely won’t be the case for the 30-year-old Mills, who has a wealth of experience, having played for multiple teams throughout his 10-year career. The veteran safety recently appeared in four games with the Texans and actually made one start. He also played some special teams, which could be required of him in Detroit, if he does get on the field.
Mills has the versatility to play not only safety but also cornerback, which is how he made a name for himself with the Philadelphia Eagles, where he won a Super Bowl in 2017.
While Mills isn’t the same player we saw with the Eagles, having that versatility only helps his case to get on the field. Throughout his career, the Lions have lined up Branch at different spots in the secondary to maximize his skills. This season was no different, as Branch has played a large sum of his defensive snaps at free safety (282). However, he also played 149 snaps at slot and 26 at corner.
Mills likely won’t play in the slot, as the Lions are covered there with Amik Robertson and Arthur Maulet. But the veteran safety can play at outside corner, which is good with Terrion Arnold out, and Robertson’s struggles on the boundary. For his career, Mills has played 3,631 snaps on the outside and owns his best Pro Football Focus coverage grade (65.1) of the last five seasons this year.
At this point in this season, it's hard to find a complete 1-for-1 replacement for Branch. However, with Maddox and now Mills, Detroit is doing anything it can to mitigate the loss and hopefully get into the postseason.