news-engine

The Detroit Lions announced a flurry of roster moves on Tuesday afternoon. Unfortunately, running back Isiah Pacheco has been placed on the injured reserve list. He was dealing with a MCL injury, but head coach Dan Campbell expressed that he is also dealing with a back injury, which was more of the present concern. As a result, the veteran will now miss the first four games of the 2026 regular season.The team made the signing of tight end Tyler Conkin official, while also adding two players to the practice squad. Wide receiver Dominic Lovett, who was a 2025 seventh-round pick, is back on the practice squad, joining Tom Kennedy and Lucky Jackson. Offensive guard Elijah Klein was also signed to the practice squad. The 26-year-old, who played collegiately at UTEP, started his NFL career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was selected in the sixth-round back in 2024. Lions bring back veteran TE The Detroit Lions have re-signed veteran tight end to Tyler Conklin to the 53-man roster. After being part of the initial cuts, the team will welcome back the 31-year-old. Throughout training camp, Conklin battled an injury, but is expected to be part of a tight end room that currently features Sam LaPorta, Brock Wright and Jackson Meeks. Thomas Gordon was also brought back to the team’s initial practice squad. Detroit is expected to be in heavy 12- and 13-personnel this season, given how new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing likes to run his Mental component Last week, the former NFL tight end was asked if a players mental component is a factor in the final roster decision-making process. “Yeah. Time on task. Time on task. It is. And it’s the youth, it’s just experience, it’s having to live in those moments,” said Campbell. “And the more they do, the better they’re going to be. And then if you are, whether you keep them or they come back on the practice squad or vet squad, man they’re only banking valuable reps against our guys, because yeah you’re giving looks, but we compete here. We don’t just get out there and it’s the token play outside leverage, keep the card and get beat. No man, Wednesdays and Thursdays, you’re trying to win.” Detroit has the expectation that players on the practice squad will compete hard to earn either an elevation on game day or a spot on the 53-man roster during the season. “You should be winning against (Amon-Ra) St. Brown or (Jameson Williams) Jamo or whatever or vice versa against Rock (Ya-Sin) or (D.J.) Reed or we can go down the line,” said Campbell. “You’re not just out here, you’re not just a token body. We need to see you compete and win because those are important for us. “Guys have made the roster, guys that we’ve brought up from practice squad or that were on the roster, they’re 52, 53, and now all of a sudden they get elevated to go to the game because they’ve proven it. So, that’s important to us.” offense. Local pop up event to promote ‘Rivalries’ uniform The Lions held an event in Downtown Detroit to promote the release of their controversial “Defend the Den” rivalry uniforms. Many fans took to social media to complain that the uniform resembles the Carolina Panthers far too much. “We like it. But I think, we understand. We knew, whenever you make jerseys, there are going to be people that are going to love them. We love our three sort of traditional jersey combos. This was a chance for us to try something different,” said Lions chief communications officer Brian Facchini. “We can push the envelop a little bit. Express a different part of the Lions brand. We knew there would be some people that would not like it. That is okay. “I think they liked it. I think they liked the silver,” Facchini continued, when asked if the players liked the uniform. “They liked the gray ones. And so I think having another option, the NFL is a little different than college. A lot of these guys are from college where you may have seven or eight different jerseys. You may have four different helmets. We’re a little different. So anytime we can give them something to express how they’re feeling, I think they like that.” This article was produced by the staff at Detroit Lions On SI. For more, visit si.com/nfl/lions/onsi