Lions place big offseason acquisition on IR

Considering Reed was carted off the field in the Lions’ win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, his IR placement doesn’t come as a surprise. Nevertheless, it’s an unwelcome development for Detroit, which added the former Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers and New York Jets player on a three-year, $48M contract in free agency last March. Injury aside, the investment has looked good so far.

During his first four games as a Lion, Reed played over 88% of defensive snaps and helped the team to a 3-1 start. Along with leading all Lions corners in playing time, Reed posted 16 tackles, four passes defensed, an interception, and a fumble recovery. Pro Football Focus ranks his early season performance 28th among 164 qualifying corners.

Before Reed went down, the Lions had been set to reduce fellow outside corner Terrion Arnold‘s usage. Arnold then joined Reed in suffering an injury last week, though he was able to practice on a limited basis Wednesday despite a shoulder issue (via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press). Arnold, Amik Robertson, Khalil Dorsey and Rock Ya-Sin will now have to pick up the slack in Reed’s absence.

The Lions’ schedule over the next few weeks looks like a mixed bag. Their Reed-less secondary will take on Cincinnati Bengals backup quarterback Jake Browning on Sunday, but they’ll have to contend with Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes and Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield in the two weeks after that. After a bye, the Lions will face the division-rival Minnesota Vikings and either J.J. McCarthy or Carson Wentz on Nov. 2.