Lions options for replacing Ifeatu Melifonwu at cornerback

Already down one starting cornerback, the Detroit Lions suffered another significant blow in the Week 2 loss to the Green Bay Packers. Rookie CB Ifeatu Melifonwu left Monday night’s game with a lower-body injury that head coach Dan Campbell deemed significant enough to keep Melifonwu out for some time.

Melifonwu rose up to the starting lineup to replace the injured Jeff Okudah, who is out for the year with a torn Achilles suffered in Week 1. Now the Lions are faced with replacing the replacement, no easy task.

Internal options

Bobby Price took over on Monday night in Green Bay. He’s a work in progress, still converting from safety in his second NFL season. Undrafted rookie Jerry Jacobs saw limited action as well and notably committed an obvious defensive pass interference penalty.

Another rookie, AJ Parker, was the bright spot in the secondary in both games so far. He has primarily been in the slot but could kick outside. The Lions do have veteran slot CB Nickell Robey-Coleman on the practice squad. Signing him to the active 53-man roster seems a foregone conclusion.

The Lions did bring in veteran Daryl Worley to the practice squad late last week. He’s another option to get called up to the active roster now that Worley has had time to settle in a little bit. Detroit also has youngster Parnell Motley on the practice squad at CB.

Quinton Dunbar

The Lions acknowledged they were looking at bringing Dunbar back into the den last week, but nothing has materialized to this point. Dunbar signed with the Lions in the offseason and was a projected starter at outside CB before a personal issue forced him away from the team.

Dunbar has a workout scheduled with the Buffalo Bills, so if the Lions are going to act here, it needs to happen swiftly.

External options

The current crop of unsigned veteran free agent CBs isn’t great, but there are a few who merit at least a workout to see if they might fit.

Richard Sherman has made it known he’s ready to return to action. His offseason legal issues complicate matters for the Lions and head coach Dan Campbell’s “no turd” policy, and Sherman, now 33, has battled injury issues for several seasons as well.

Darqueze Dennard carries some name-value recognition as a former first-round pick (Bengals in 2014) from Michigan State. He’s not played like a first-round talent but does have experience and can play either inside or outside.

Another former first-round pick, Gareon Conley, is also still out there. Conley hasn’t played since 2019, spending 2020 on injured reserve. If the 26-year-old is healthy, and that’s a big “if”, he could help in a pinch like the Lions find themselves in right now.

Damarious Randall is yet another former first-rounder (Green Bay in 2015) who could help. He’s primarily played safety in his NFL career but played CB while with Seattle over the summer and has a cornerback background.