Just as the injury situation appeared to be clearing up since so many players had been returning after being banged up, another couple of injuries put the Lions down a starter and a backup for the rest of the season. Today, starting defensive end James Hall and backup running back Brian Calhoun were placed on the injured reserve, effectively ending both of their seasons.
James Hall missed last week's game after hurting his shoulder and saw a specialist about it. After getting a few opinions, he and the team have decided to shut him down for the remainder of the year due to the injury. For Brian Calhoun, this news really came out of no where. Late in Wednesday's practice Calhoun suffered a knee injury, and it must have been pretty serious since he will be done for the season.
Obviously, this is a bad turn of events. But, where does it leave the Lions depth-wise? Well, at defensive end more shifting among current players will be done. Already, to fill in the gaps left by Shaun Cody's injury and Shaun Rogers' suspension, some players not used to the defensive tackle spot had to switch in, and now, they may have to go back to defensive end.
At the running back spot, Brian Calhoun won't be missed as much as Hall is on defense. Calhoun was a backup to Kevin Jones, who really has turned his game up lately. So, Calhoun's absence won't be all that noticeable, but signing Arlen Harris a few weeks ago is important since if something were to happen to Jones, a solid backup is now in place.
To fill those two empty spots on the roster, the Lions signed running back Aveion Cason and defensive end Corey Smith.