Detroit Lions Week 13 snap counts: What happened to Mike Daniels?

Here’s a look at the Detroit Lions’ Week 13 snap counts in their loss to the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving.

Offense:

Quarterbacks

David Blough: 76 (100%)

Running backs

Bo Scarbrough: 36 (47%)
Ty Johnson: 25 (33%) — 6 special team snaps (21%)
J.D. McKissic: 17 (22%) — 8 (29%)
Isaac Nauta (FB): 7 (9%) — 19 (68%)

Tight ends

T.J. Hockenson: 43 (57%)
Jesse James: 27 (36%) — 9 (36%)
Logan Thomas: 19 (25%) — 14 (50%)

Wide receivers

Kenny Golladay: 73 (96%)
Marvin Jones Jr.: 73 (96%)
Danny Amendola: 57 (75%)— 3 (11%)
Chris Lacy: 3 (4%) — 8 (29%)

Offensive tackles

Taylor Decker: 76 (100%) — 4 (14%)
Rick Wagner: 76 (100%)
Tyrell Crosby: 0 (0%) — 4 (14%)

Guards/centers

Frank Ragnow: 76 (100%) — 4 (14%)
Joe Dahl: 69 (91%) — 4 (14%)
Graham Glasgow: 56 (74%) — 4 (14%)
Kenny Wiggins: 27 (36%) — 9 (32%)

Observations:

• The Lions spread them out a little, with Danny Amendola getting 75 percent of playing time—his highest percentage of the season.
• With the offensive line back at full health, I’m sorry to report that the guard rotations is still in full swing. Graham Glasgow was the one who was taken off the field the most often.
• With no Marvin Hall, Chris Lacy managed to get in a few snaps, but he was mostly on special teams duties for the day.

Defense:

Defensive end

Romeo Okwara: 41 (63%) — 5 (18%)
Trey Flowers: 38 (58%)

Defensive tackle

Da’Shawn Hand: 39 (60%)
A’Shawn Robinson: 34 (52%) — 5 (18%)
John Atkins: 32 (49%)
Mike Daniels: 14 (22%) — 5 (18%)

Linebackers

Jarrad Davis: 56 (86%) — 5 (18%)
Devon Kennard: 51 (78%) — 5 (18%)
Christian Jones: 27 (42%) — 10 (36%)
Jahlani Tavai: 20 (31%)
Jalen Reeves-Maybin: 1 (2%) — 19 (68%)
Steve Longa: 0 (0%) — 19 (68%)

Cornerbacks

Justin Coleman: 64 (98%) — 7 (25%)
Darius Slay: 63 (97%)
Amani Oruwariye: 59 (91%) — 8 (29%)
Mike Ford: 2 (3%) — 19 (68%)
Dee Virgin: 0 (0%) — 24 (86%)

Safety

Tavon Wilson: 65 (100%) — 6 (21%)
Will Harris: 57 (88%) — 5 (18%)
Tracy Walker: 52 (80%)
Miles Killebrew: 0 (0%) — 24 (86%)
C.J. Moore: 0 (0%) — 18 (64%)

Observations:

• Last week, Mike Daniels only played nine snaps. This week, he was only at 14. While some of that may have to do with the return of Da’Shawn Hand this week, it’s downright strange to see John Atkins getting more playing time than Daniels. Granted, the two are much different kind of players. Atkins is a bigger, more traditional run-stuffing defensive tackle, while Daniels can provide some pass rush. But consider how much they’re paying each player: Daniels has a cap hit of around $8 million, while Atkins is at $349,411.

Daniels hasn’t been on the injury report in two weeks, so it’s not exactly clear what’s going on here. But he was averaging 30-40 percent of playing time early in the season and is now below 20 percent in the last two weeks combined.

• Detroit appears to be easing in both Trey Flowers and Tracy Walker after they returned from injury this week. Both barely played over half the snaps, while their replacements played a significant amount more.
• Amani Oruwariye logged his first official NFL start and barely came off the field Thursday.
• After making his NFL debut last week, the Lions completely shelved Austin Bryant. The fourth-round pick didn’t play a snap on defense nor special teams.

Special teams

Matt Prater: 10 (32%)
Don Muhlbach: 9 (29%)
Sam Martin: 9 (29%)