Brian Branch will not play Sunday in Arizona. Neither will Cade Mays, Rock Ya-Sin, or Ben Bartch. The Lions elevated Jalen Mills from the practice squad for a third straight week to put a veteran in that secondary. Marvin Harrison Jr. has been told he will not play for the Cardinals. The fine sheet from the Panthers loss came in the same afternoon.
Branch and Mays Wait for Green Bay
The Lions opened the 21-day windows for Branch (Achilles) and Mays (wrist) on Wednesday. Both were limited Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Branch looked good enough that Kelvin Sheppard said it was realistic he could have played if the game had been that night. Dan Campbell is not going to use him that way in the desert.
“Let’s get them going Green Bay week,” Campbell said Friday. “Let’s get them going, and then hopefully by midweek, we’ll have a pretty good idea. Would love to get them ready to go versus Green Bay.” Mays, the only free agent Detroit gave multiple years and more than $10 million, spent his first day back with the scout team. Juice Scruggs has been the center in his place. Campbell wants both judged against the Packers, not the Cardinals.
Bartch (foot) will miss a third straight game, and the Lions did not put him on injured reserve. Ya-Sin (hamstring) did not practice all week. Tyleik Williams (foot) is the lone questionable. He missed Wednesday, was limited Thursday and Friday, and said Thursday the foot was a bruise he was treating carefully. Campbell still described him as powerfully strong, with football intelligence “way up there,” a second-year tackle who has kept climbing. MLive’s Friday wrap had no other surprises on the Lions’ list. D.J. Wonnum (back) was limited Wednesday and Thursday, a full participant Friday, and has no game designation. The Friday report lists Branch, Mays, Bartch, and Ya-Sin out.
Mills and Abney Take the Snaps
Mills is up because three other safeties are already unavailable. Kerby Joseph is still working back from last season’s knee. Avonte Maddox went on injured reserve with a foot injury in the Week 2 loss at Buffalo. Thomas Harper is on injured reserve with an ankle. Mills is 32 and in his 11th season. He was available against the Jets. Against the Panthers he played four defensive snaps, seven on special teams, and made one tackle. Saturday was the third week in a row the Lions elevated him. Pride of Detroit reported that this is the last of his three standard elevations, so another game means a spot on the 53. The same report noted that a strong afternoon could still get him signed, because the safety room is this thin and Branch is not scheduled back until Green Bay week.
Keith Abney II is the other name Campbell put beside him. The fifth-round pick from Arizona State has 25 defensive snaps in four games, and Kelvin Sheppard said the light workload was intentional. Sheppard called him one of the smartest rookies he has been around and said the staff held the defense back from him in camp rather than handing him all of it. Campbell said Wednesday he expects Abney and Mills both to play more against Arizona. Abney told MLive he has been waiting on the chance, and that the job is not to make the moment bigger than the play. The Lions have allowed 1,308 passing yards and 11 passing touchdowns. MLive has them last in the league in both. Abney said that is not the defense he sees every day in practice. The staff has not said whether he will play nickel, outside corner, or safety.
Harrison Will Not Play
ESPN and NFL Network reported that the Cardinals have told Marvin Harrison Jr. he will be inactive Sunday. A trade is expected, and it is not done. He has five catches for 85 yards and a touchdown on 13 targets, on the field for 74 percent of Arizona’s snaps. In 2024, his rookie year, he had 885 yards and eight touchdowns. He has not matched that over the two seasons since. Trey McBride, Michael Wilson, and Kendrick Bourne are the pass catchers left on the field. MLive also has this defense allowing the most points and the most yards per game through four weeks. Thirteen targets is not a featured receiver’s year. It is still a 6-foot-3 starter who will not be out there.
Campbell expects rookie back Jeremiyah Love to play through an ankle issue. “Totally expect him to play,” he said, “and be full tilt.” A Friday Cardinals report had guard Isaiah Adams and safety Andrew Wingard ruled out. Kickoff is 4:25 p.m. on Fox. Detroit is 2-2. Arizona is 1-3.
Two Fines From Carolina
Jack Campbell was fined $15,930 for a hip-drop tackle on tight end Tommy Tremble. It was the second play of Carolina’s first drive, with 11:59 left in the first quarter, on a five-yard catch from Bryce Young. No flag was thrown. Brock Wright was fined $17,911 for a leg whip with 8:24 left in the third quarter. Officials threw that one. Detroit was first and 10 at its own 46, and the tripping penalty moved the ball to the 31. Goff found Isaac TeSlaa for 57 yards, and the deficit was 22-19. MLive totaled player fines at more than $177,404 through four games, the most of any team.
Campbell’s foul is on the short list the league now treats as major. Three of them, in any mix from that list, and the player is suspended for a game. The count carries into later seasons. Wright’s leg whip is not on the list. That three-foul trigger is the new part of the rule. Both players can appeal.
This article was created by aggregating Detroit Lions news using Artificial Intelligence.
