Dan Campbell confident of Lions’ injuries at cornerback

For the second week in a row, the Detroit Lions are expected to be without a starting outside cornerback. Last week, Lions rookie Terrion Arnold missed the Colts game with a groin injury. Although it appears he is on track to return for Thanksgiving against the Chicago Bears, coach Dan Campbell expressed doubt about the availability of No. 1 cornerback Carlton Davis this week after suffering a knee injury on Sunday.

That said, the Lions have a lot of options and Campbell expressed confidence in the players they have. Let’s review some of their options.

Emmanuel Moseley

The Lions returned Moseley from injured reserve last week after he suffered a torn pectoral muscle during joint drills. Before the injury, Moseley was in line to compete for the starting nickel cornerback job, but he also has plenty of experience at outside cornerback.

When he returned last week, Moseley was limited to special teams only when the Lions brought him back into action. However, Campbell said the training wheels are off and if the Lions need him to play a defensive role on Thursday, he is ready to do so.

“He went out there, competed, did a good job on (special) teams for us, but yeah, I think he’s ready,” Campbell said Monday. “I think he’s ready and we’re not afraid to use him.”

Move Amik Robertson from nickel to outside cornerback

Robertson is another cornerback who has the versatility to play either cornerback spot. In fact, last year with the Las Vegas Raiders, Robertson played over 75 percent of his defensive snaps on the outside. Campbell said they have discussed the possibility of moving Robertson outside this week, with Moseley the likely candidate to take over in the nickel if they choose that option.

“All things are on the table,” Campbell said. “It’s not like Amik has never played outside. He can go out there and not bat an eye, and then you move E-man (Moseley) inside, which is great.”

Kindle Vildor

Last week without Arnold, the Lions slipped Vildor into the starting lineup. It didn’t go particularly well as Vildor allowed several big plays in coverage – and was lucky not to allow a couple more. PFF credited with three catches allowed on six targets for 60 yards, but one of those incompletions was an overthrow by the quarterback and another was a completed pass where the receiver didn’t get both feet in. His 27.7 PFF coverage grade was literally the worst of the week among any NFL cornerback.

That said, it was his first start since the NFC Championship, and while his coverage grades have never been great, they’ve never been to bad. I’m not so sure the game reflected Vildor’s overall talent.

Khalil Dorsey

When Davis went down against the Colts, it was Dorsey who filled in along with Vildor. He has far less experience than Vildor – just 123 defensive snaps since entering the league in 2020 – but he has shown flashes of decent coverage skills both in training camp and the preseason.

“We’re not afraid to play Dorsey with Vildor or whatever,” Campbell said. “We have options and we feel good about all of them.”