Will Lions safety Ifeatu Melifonwu make his 2024 season debut in Week 16 against the Chicago Bears?
The oft-injured safety has spent the entire season on the Lions' injured reserve list, with two separate stints dating back to the beginning of the season. After suffering an ankle/heel injury in the second preseason game, Melifonwu was sidelined until November. The Lions designated the fourth-year safety for return and activated him, only to subsequently place him back on I.R. the very next day with a hand injury.
Melifonwu has once again been designated to return and practiced this week, ahead of Sunday's matchup with the Bears in Chicago. Based on what head coach Dan Campbell said this week, it seems unlikely we'll see Melifonwu on Sunday.
Melifonwu was listed as a full participant in practice on both Wednesday and Thursday. He remains on the team's I.R. as of Friday's practice.
Here's what Campbell said prior to Friday's practice about Melifonwu:
"Yeah, I mean, so much of this was about getting his legs back under him, getting him comfortable this week. We're not closed to that; I'm not closed to that, I just - he's gotten a little better every day and he'll go out there today and practice and we're working him in some stuff - just see where he's at. But it's good to have him back and it's good to see him out there, functioning, working the position, and so that's a good thing."
With his 21-day activation window opening on Monday, the Lions could keep Melifownu shelved until the Week 18 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, if needed. He is eligible to be activated at any time.
Melifonwu was expected to be the third safety, playing in packages behind starters Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph. In training camp and preseason, Melifonwu played primarily in the box and against offensive sets with multiple tight ends.
That role hasn't really been used much by the Lions in the 2024 season. Linebacker Ezekiel Turner has served in that sort of capacity for the last two weeks. The only reserve safety on Detroit's active roster is Brandon Joseph, who plays primarily on special teams. Undrafted rookie Loren Strickland is on the team's practice squad.
John Cominsky unlikely to return this season, says Dan Campbell