Emmanuel Moseley and Christian Mahogany will start the 2024 season on injury lists—with the eligibility to return later.
According to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, two Detroit Lions players will start the season on an injury list—and therefore not on the original 53-man roster.
Cornerback Emmanuel Moseley will head to injured reserve (but will be eligible to return), while rookie guard Christian Mahogany will move to the reserve/non-football illness list. Both players will miss a minimum of four games to start the year.
Moseley suffered a torn pectoral during Week 1 of the preseason in a joint practice with the New York Giants . It was a tough blow for Moseley, who missed all but two snaps of his 2023 season with a second consecutive torn ACL. He was in line to compete for a starting job at the Lions’ nickel cornerback position. In his absence, Amik Robertson has assumed the starting nickel duties.
There’s a new rule this year that allows teams to place two players on IR on the day of the cutdown deadline, but have them still eligible to return to play later in the season. Lions coach Dan Campbell noted that Moseley and defensive end John Cominsky were early candidates to take those two spots. Prior to this new rule, in order for a player to be eligible to return from IR, they would have to be on the 53-man roster first.
Mahogany missed all of training camp with an undisclosed illness. He recently returned to the team facility, but Campbell noted he still had a long road ahead to get physically ready for the season.
“We’re going to get him going, start working him, getting his body right, getting back there with (director of sports performance) Mike Clark and (director of player health & performance Brett Fischer) Fisch and those guys, and just start getting him back in shape,” Campbell said. “He’ll be in meetings. And then once we feel like he’s in a good place physically, then we’ll probably see where it’s at there.”
Mahogany will not be able to practice until at least Week 5 of the season—the Lions’ bye week. At that point, the Lions could return him to practice and start his 21-day evaluation period. During any point in those three weeks, the Lions could bring him up to the 53-man roster and play him. However, if they decide after three weeks that he isn’t ready to be on the roster, he will be forced to miss the season.