Lions Place Wide Receiver Tre’Quan Smith and Linebacker Malik Jefferson on IR

The Detroit Lions shocked the NFL in 2023 by storming the NFC, and nearly making it to the Super Bowl. Head coach Dan Campbell instilled a new culture into the team that has certainly taken hold, and the Lions ended the regular season with a 12-5 record.

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The Lions captured the NFC North title for the first time in 30 years and nearly punched their ticket to the Super Bowl. After taking down the Los Angeles Rams and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Lions narrowly lost to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game with a final score of 34-31.

Campbell and the Lions made their presence known, and they are now hoping to return to that same place in 2024. Though there is plenty of hope the Lions will return to playoff form, they might have to deal with losing two depth players for the regular season.

On Tuesday, the team announced that linebacker Malik Jefferson and wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith have both been placed on the the Reserve/Injured list.

The good news is that per the new rules indicated by the league, each NFL team can bring back two players on the IR when teams are cutting down their rosters to 53. This means that Jefferson and/or Smith can be brought back when roster cuts are happening.

Smith was recently signed by the Lions to a reserve/future contract in February after spending the 2023 season with the Denver Broncos. Smith only appeared in one game with the Broncos in 2023 but did not record a catch.

Smith spent the majority of his NFL career with the New Orleans Saints after he was selected in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Smith’s most successful season came during 2020 when he logged 428 yards and four touchdowns.

Jefferson had a similar career path, as he was initially drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals No. 78 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. He would spend one season with the Bengals before heading to the Cleveland Browns in 2019. Jefferson was signed and waived by the Los Angeles Chargers, Tennessee Titans, and Chargers again in 2020.

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Jefferson bounced around to the Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys before the Lions signed him in the offseason.

Both Jefferson and Smith are lower on the depth chart for the Lions but could have provided depth at their respective positions. However, time will tell if either is brought back once the roster cuts take place on Aug. 27.