The Detroit Lions spent most of the offseason stockpiling the kind of depth they didn’t have one year ago. But even the finest plans went out the window when the NFL season began. The Lions have already experienced some injuries while splitting the first two games of the season, and the latest came when tight end Shane Zylstra was carted off in Sunday’s win over the Bears.
Getting carted off is usually a bad sign for any injury, but so is the chance that a team makes a move to make up for said player. That move came on Tuesday morning when NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported the Lions are signing veteran tight end Ross Dwelley to the practice squad and possibly indicated that Zylstra will have an extended absence after getting hurt in Sunday’s game.
Lions Special Teams Take a Hit with Shane Zylstra’s Status in Doubt
Zylstra is in his fourth season with the Lions, serving as a backup to Sam LaPorta and Brock Wright. While LaPorta is more of a receiving threat and Wright has served as a blocking tight end, Zylstra has done the dirty work, putting up modest results, including a 58.1 overall grade and 59.6 run blocking grade this season according to Pro Football Focus.
But Zylstra’s work has been especially prominent on special teams. He logged an 86.2 grade on 100 special teams snaps during the 2022 season, and after missing 2023 with a knee injury, he posted a 78.3 grade on 215 special teams snaps. It made the 28-year-old a key component of the Lions' kickoff return team, but lined him up to suffer a sprained ankle in the first quarter of Sunday’s win.
With Zylstra’s status in doubt, the Lions are turning to a veteran in Dwelley. The 30-year-old has played a similar role to Zylstra’s over his seven-year career, and his 1,345 special teams snaps seem to indicate he would be a replacement if called upon. While he’s signed to the practice squad, he can be elevated up to three times, which would allow Zylstra a timeframe to recover from his injury.
The move seems to indicate this isn’t just a one-week thing, and Zylstra could miss significant time that could leave a hole in the Lions' special teams unit. If Zylstra is out for a while, it could put Dwelley into the mix as soon as Monday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens and perhaps have the Lions leaning on some of the depth they’ve been looking to acquire this season.