Saturday open thread: If Trufant and Roberts are healthy, who are the Lions starting cornerbacks?

The Detroit Lions are working their way back to having a healthy secondary, but with only so many chairs to sit in when the music stops, the coaching staff has some decisions to make.

Veteran cornerback Desmond Trufant is back to practice, albeit in a limited capacity as he rehabs a hamstring injury he suffered in Week 1’s matchup against the Chicago Bears. Also, nickel cornerback Darryl Roberts—whose play has been unexpectedly solid in place of the injured Justin Coleman—is limited with a hip injury. But let’s live in a world where both Trufant and Roberts are healthy enough to get out on the field. While we live in that world, let’s get to today’s question of the day...

If Trufant and Roberts are healthy, who are the Lions starting cornerbacks?

After watching Tony McRae play in spot duty against the Bears in Week 1, it goes without saying that the Lions really, really want Roberts manning the nickel position. That’s no knock on McRae, he’s an ace on special teams, but he’s just not a viable option on defense in the short term.

Here’s where things get a bit more interesting. Rookie Jeff Okudah has struggled mightily in his first two games despite notching his first interception last week against the Arizona Cardinals. He’s looked slow to react to route developments, and he’s been caught peeking into the backfield—among other rookie mistakes that are totally correctable. In his defense, his assignments have included covering Davante Adams and DeAndre Hopkins, so yeah, baptism by fire for the third overall pick.

Second year starter Amani Oruwariye has looked solid in both defending the run and pass, so his spot should be secure, but the Lions went out this offseason and nabbed Trufant to be Darius Slay’s replacement. Okudah’s play hasn’t been anything to write home about, so I think it’s in Detroit’s best interest to get a veteran like Trufant back out on the field opposite of Oruwariye.

Your turn.