In the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions chose not to address a need with their first round pick that many expected they would. Their need for secondary, especially a cornerback. The Lions have been thin at the position with consistent injuries and low skill levels. Instead of selecting Michigan State corner Darqueze Dennard at tenth overall, or trade up to the eighth pick to get Oklahoma State corner Justin Gilbert like the Cleveland Browns did.
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Instead, Detroit took North Carolina tight end Eric Ebron, but that decision is biting back at them as they’ve lost cornerback Bill Bentley for the rest of the season due to an ACL tear in his left knee that he suffered in Detroit’s 35-14 win against the New York Giants on Monday night. Now, Detroit has just four cornerbacks on their 53-man roster.
Lions head coach Jim Caldwell talked about the business side of things after Bentley’s season ending injury was announced.
“Each and every game in this league there’s always going to be instances when you have injuries,” Caldwell told the Detroit Free Press. “It’s 100 percent injuries, so it shouldn’t be uncommon for anybody, me or anyone else in this room, that when things do happen like that they’re going to be things that we have to make adjustments in order to fill out the depth that we have and the people that we work with. That’s what we’re evaluating right now, to see what we have to do in that regard.”
Bentley, a third-round pick in 2012, missed most of his rookie season after undergoing surgery on both shoulders and was limited to 13 games because of injuries last year. He played just three snaps on defense before falling to the ground running down the field on pass coverage.
Rookie Nevin Lawson replaced Bentley and played the rest of the game as the Lions’ No. 3 cornerback. Along with Lawson, the Lions have starting corners Rashean Mathis and Darius Slay on their roster, backup Cassius Vaughn on the bench, and undrafted rookie Mohammed Seisay on the practice squad.
The Lions hosted veteran cornerback Champ Bailey for workouts last week and he may be getting a call now that Bentley is done for Detroit this season and they are spread thin.
The 1-0 Lions will travel to play the 1-0 Carolina Panthers Sunday.
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