It raised some eyebrows when veteran defensive tackle Michael Brockers was a healthy scratch for the Detroit Lions in Week 7. Brockers sat in favor of John Cominsky and rookie Josh Paschal, who made his debut after missing the first five weeks with injury.
Brockers, the only Lions player over 30 years old, has not played well this season. He managed just four tackles and one pass defended in 113 snaps over the first five games. So the benching for younger players with more promise makes sense. Cominsky and Paschal both played well in the loss to Dallas, outshining Brockers’ recent performances.
The chain of events has led many to speculate that Brockers will not be in Detroit much longer — perhaps even being released this week. Head coach Dan Campbell strongly refuted those notions in his press conference before Monday’s practice.
“(Brockers) provides a tremendous amount of leadership to us, and he’s helped that room in multiple areas, and so there again, just from where we’re at right now, we felt like once we got Cominsky and Paschal back with where it is, that was the right lineup for us,” Campbell said. “But just like last week, when we talked and communicated it with him, he’s like, ‘Look, I’m all in.’ He’s practicing, he’s, ‘You need me, you need me. In the meantime, I’m going to continue to help these young guys get better.’ He’s a pro’s pro, man.”
When asked if Brockers can return form the benching to the starting lineup the way CB Amani Oruwariye did between Weeks 5 and 7, Campbell enthusiastically supported the concept.
“Yeah, I mean you never know,” Campbell said. “We may need him, or it could be that that’s the lineup of the week, so he’s on call.”
