ALLEN PARK -- With Terrion Arnold expected to miss "a long time" and D.J. Reed on injured reserve, the Detroit Lions are sure to be on the lookout for help.
Reed (hamstring) is expected back this season. The Lions weren’t sure about Arnold (shoulder), but NFL Network reports it is likely a season-ending issue.
One of the first names to get linked to the team is free agent cornerback Tre Hawkins III. Hawkins was a 2023 sixth-round pick out of Old Dominion and spent his first two seasons with the New York Giants. The 25-year-old played all 17 games as a rookie, then had his second season cut short after three games due to a fractured lumbar spine injury.
Hawkins suffered the injury during his best game in the league, too. The cornerback had six tackles, one interception and two pass deflections while getting the start and playing 59 defensive snaps against the New Orleans Saints last December. He’s started four times and appeared in 20 games in two years.
Hawkins was back in action for training camp with the Giants. However, a reported hamstring injury cut that short, too, and he was waived from the team’s injured reserve with a settlement last month.
NFL insider Aaron Wilson reports Hawkins is progressing from the injury and has interest from the Lions, Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins and Indianapolis Colts.
The Lions are going to need all the help they can get to patch their holes in the defensive backfield. And it’s not just Reed and Arnold. They expect to miss depth cornerback Khalil Dorsey (wrist/concussion) for a while, too. Former second-round pick Ennis Rakestraw Jr. was lost for the season due to shoulder surgery early in camp and the preseason, stretching the depth even thinner.
Hawkins is an intriguing name to watch if the injury issues get the OK. The 25-year-old has flashed in the past and looks to have some supreme athleticism paired with a 6-foot-3, 195-pound frame. Hawkins hit 37.5 inches on his vertical jump and ran a 4.42-second 40-yard dash ahead of the 2023 draft, and that could be something to develop.
Detroit’s internal options are Amik Robertson to fill the void as the top corner, with Rock Ya-Sin likely on the other side with Avonte Maddox in the slot. The Lions have Tre Flowers, Erick Hallett II and Nick Whiteside on the practice squad. Hallett and Whiteside spent camp and the preseason with the team. Flowers was signed last week and ended up playing during last week’s win in Cincinnati.
Maddox and Ya-Sin have some versatility, and the Lions were sure to work them all over the field during training camp. With the Kansas City Chiefs up next, though, the depth is facing the ultimate test.
“We’re going to do what’s best for us, “Lions coach Dan Campbell said.” And everything aligns together between the coverage and the rush. We don’t want to go away from playing man-to-man. That’s what we do here. It’s part of our DNA. Do we alter some things? Yeah, we could alter some things. We’re going to help our personnel out the best that we can. We always do that for every game.
“You tweak a couple things, the front’s got to get there a little quicker, and our DBs, man, get up there and challenge, compete. We’ll adjust, we’ll adapt. We move on.”
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