Detroit Lions place Nick Bawden on IR, sign Olive Sagapolu

The Detroit Lions announced on Monday morning that fullback Nick Bawden has been placed on injured reserve, ending his 2020 season before it officially began. This is the second time in three years that Bawden has been placed on injured reserve prior to the start of the regular season after missing his entire rookie season with a torn ACL.

The loss of Bawden means that it appears lineback-turned-fullback Jason Cabinda has won the fullback job for the upcoming season. Last week, Cabinda was converted full-time to the offensive side of the ball after pulling some spot duty at fullback last season. The Lions have also used Isaac Nauta at fullback in the past, but the tight end hasn’t repped at fullback at all during this year’s training camp.

With the extra roster spot, the Lions re-signed defensive lineman Olive Sagapolu, who was featured in one of the pass rush reps in Bo Davis’ Mic’d Up video. Last Thursday, the Lions waived Sagapolu to bring in defensive tackle Kevin Wilkins. Sagapolu faces long odds to make the final 53-man roster, which must be decided by 4 p.m. ET on Saturday.