The Lions placed tight end Brock Wright on injured reserve after an injury to his trachea, per a team announcement .
The move comes three weeks after Sam LaPorta
went down with a back injury
that is expected to end his season. Wright already had a 51% snap share before LaPorta’s injury; in the last two weeks, that number has been over 80%. The fifth-year tight end has not been able to replace LaPorta’s receiving production, or even come close. On 11 targets in his last two games, Wright only has five catches for 37 yards and zero touchdowns. He is still a reliable presence in the run game and earned the two highest run-blocking grades of the season in those matchups.
The extent of Wright’s injury remains unclear. He was listed with a neck injury on this week’s practice report and described the injury as similar to Frank Ragnow ‘s fractured cartilage in 2020, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Ragnow only missed two games, but Wright’s absence will be at least four.
That will force the Lions to go to the next man up once again. Ross Dwelley and Anthony Firkser are listed as the second- and third-team tight ends on the depth chart, but they have only played 100 and 18 offensive snaps this year, respectively. Dwelley saw a huge bump in playing time in Week 13, but does not offer much as a pass-catcher with just three receptions in his last three seasons and 10 in his last five.
Detroit uses plenty of offensive formations with two tight ends, so they may call on undrafted rookie Zach Horton or four-year veteran Giovanni Ricci to take on some game day action. That will not be the case in Week 14, as the Lions did not elevate either from the practice squad for Thursday’s game. They may be planning to reduce their usage of two-tight end sets and/or call on sixth offensive lineman Dan Skipper as an extra blocker.
Rather than use Horton or Ricci this week, the Lions opted to sign cornerback Nick Whiteside and elevate wide receiver Malik Cunningham from the practice squad. Whiteside has appeared in five games this season, while Cunningham will be making his Lions debut to add depth to their depleted receiving corps.