Lions place Quintez Cephus on IR, sign AJ Parker, Maurice Alexander

On Friday, the Detroit Lions waived kicker Austin Seibert, creating an open spot on the 53-man roster. That turned out to just be one of many moves this weekend for the team. On Saturday, Detroit announced five more roster moves to get them prepared for Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots. Let’s break them down.

First, the Lions placed Quintez Cephus on injured reserve, meaning the receiver will miss at least four games due to a foot injury suffered last Sunday against the Seahawks. Unfortunately, this is the second time Cephus has been placed on IR in as many years. Last season, he missed the final three months of the season after suffering a broken collarbone.

This leaves the Lions a bit short-handed at wide receiver, given that DJ Chark has already been declared out and both Amon-Ra St. Brown and Josh Reynolds are questionable with ankle injuries.

With these two new roster spots, the Lions signed cornerback AJ Parker and wide receiver Maurice Alexander to the 53-man roster from the practice squad.

Parker’s promotion is interesting. He and Mike Hughes had a close training camp battle for the nickel cornerback job, with Hughes just edging out Parker. But Hughes has struggled through four games, and given that the coaching staff has promised that there would be defensive personnel changes this week, it’s reasonable to wonder if Parker will start at nickel against the Patriots.

Last week, Alexander was a temporary call-up from the practice squad and served as the team’s kick returner. He could have a very similar role this week, but if St. Brown or Reynolds can’t go, his role could be increased offensively.

In addition to these moves, the Lions also gave a temporary call-up from the practice squad to two players: corner Saivion Smith and kicker Michael Badgley.

Badgley’s promotion comes as no surprise, as he’ll be the team’s starting kicker this week following the waiving of Seibert. Smith has yet to play for the Lions this year, but with some of the shake-ups in the roster, Smith may be used on special teams this week.

Both Badgley and Smith will revert back to the team’s practice squad after Sunday’s game and will not have to pass through waivers. This is the first time the Lions have used this elevation for either Badgley or Smith. With a maximum of three call-ups per season, the Lions can elevate each player two more times this season.

So to conclude:

• WR Quintez Cephus to IR
• CB AJ Parker, WR Maurice Alexander signed to 53-man roster
• CB Saivion Smith, K Michael Bagley elevated from practice squad