The Detroit Lions ruled two players out and one questionable for Monday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers. Running back David Montgomery and wide receiver Kalif Raymond were both ruled out, while linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin is questionable.
Montgomery will miss his second game in row with a knee injury, and is expected to be out until the postseason. Raymond, meanwhile, is in the first week of returning to practice after a stint on injured reserve. He has been out since suffering a foot injury in Detroit’s win over Indianapolis in late-November.
Reeves-Maybin is also working his way back from injured reserve, having been out since suffering a neck injury against the Packers in Week 9. He returned late last week and is officially questionable to play against San Francisco.
Cornerback Terrion Arnold and offensive lineman Graham Glasgow do not have game designations. Arnold was limited on Friday and did not participate Thursday due to illness, but appears to be good to go.
Reeves-Maybin is one of several linebackers who has had to miss time this season, leading Detroit to rely on depth players throughout the season. One of them is Ben Niemann, who has played an increased amount in recent weeks.
“He’s been here all year, so he knows our system inside and out, and then there are different packages we want to use guys for,” said defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. “For example, (Ezekiel Turner) Zeke, we’re going to use Zeke in a ton of coverage situations because that’s what he can do, and Ben can play every position as far as linebacker. He can play the SAM, he can play the MIKE, he can play the WILL, so when you have a guy like that and there’s movement that goes along, sometimes you don’t have to flip guys, you can just let guys stay there. They can be the MIKE or the WILL in one before the motion, and then when the motion happens, they can end up being in a different spot. So, those guys do a really good job of understanding that, and when you have guys like that, man, listen, you want to put them on the field.”
