Detroit Lions place Romeo Okwara, Josh Paschal, Jason Cabinda reserve/PUP list

After earlier reports that rookie receiver Jameson Williams will go on the reserve/non-football injury list and miss the first four games of the season, the Detroit Lions announced that three of his teammates will be joining him. Romeo Okwara, Josh Paschal, and Jason Cabinda have been officially placed on the reserve/physically unable to perform list on Tuesday. Both the NFI and PUP lists act the same, meaning these players will no longer count against the team’s current active roster, but they are also now ineligible to play in the team’s first four games of the season.

Paschal, Detroit’s second-round pick, aggravated an injury from college during minicamp and required sports hernia surgery in the spring. It’s an unfortunate setback for the defensive lineman, but the long-term prognosis is apparently positive for the former Kentucky Wildcat.

“I would say for where we thought he would be at this point, he’s ahead of schedule,” Campbell said in early August. “He’s doing well. He’s a grinder man. Like, we’re having to pull him back.”

Romeo Okwara is still rehabbing from a torn Achilles suffered in Week 4 of the 2021 season. His rehab has been more behind the scenes, but the defensive end provided an update early in training camp offering optimism that he’ll still play this year.

“I can’t really talk too much about it, but I’m running, moving a little more than I was before,” Okwara said. “So just kinda focusing on that and doing it every day.”

Jason Cabinda suffered an ankle injury that was originally not believed to be too serious, but Campbell noted last week that the rehab process was taking longer than expected.

It’s notable that cornerback Jerry Jacobs was not placed on the reserve/PUP list, suggesting he could be close to coming back to the field after suffering a torn ACL in December. That being said, if he does not show enough progress, he can still be placed on the reserve/PUP list at the 53-man roster cut downs.

In addition to these moves, the Lions also cut linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton to get down to the 80-man roster limit by Tuesday’s deadline. They will have to get down to 53 players by next Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET.