[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Detroit Lions may have won the opener, but in the process lost two key pieces for the rest of the season.
On Tuesday, the Lions announced that nickel cornerback Bill Bentley will miss the remainder of the season, after suffering a torn ACL during the Monday night victory over the New York Giants and place him on injured reserve.
Wednesday morning, Detroit announced that they will place tackle Corey Hilliard on injured reserve as well with torn ligaments in his right foot sustained in the win against the Giants.
The loss of Bentley could be the most meaningful, leaving the Lions now with just four cornerbacks on its 53-man roster. They are expected to make a move Wednesday to add to the already depleted secondary.
With the absence of Hilliard, who started in place of LaAdrian Waddle, the Lions re-signed offensive lineman Garrett Reynolds on Tuesday. Reynolds was one of the final cuts the team made last week before the season began.
Waddle sustained a strained calf against the Giants and his time missed has been undetermined. In the event he can’t take the field, Reynolds or rookie Cornelius Lucas will take his place.
Bentley, a third-round pick three years ago, missed most of his first season due to surgery on both shoulders and missed another three games last year due to injury.
On Monday, after just three snaps into the game on defense, he went down while providing downfield coverage in the Lions secondary.
That leaves Detroit with starters Rashean Mathis, Darius Slay, Nevin Lawson and veteran backup Cassius Vaughn.
The fourth-round rookie corner Nevin Lawson replaced Bentley at the nickel slot and gained much needed experience his first time out.
“The young fella stepped in and I thought moved around well,” Lions coach Jim Caldwell said. “He made some plays and I thought he played like a young fella at this point, but he’ll get better.”
Detroit’s secondary was also missing safeties Don Carey (hamstring) and James Ihedigbo (shoulder) on Monday. Both are expected to return this week against the Carolina Panthers.
Last week, the Lions worked out 12-time Pro Bowler Champ Bailey, and Roc Carmichael, who started two games for the Philidelphia Eagles among their visitors.
