The Detroit Lions announced they have elevated interior offensive lineman Marcus Martin to the active roster for their Week 9 game vs the Minnesota Vikings.
With Joe Dahl already being downgraded to OUT, Hal Vaitai being listed as questionable, and Taylor Decker missing some practice time earlier in the week, the Lions appear to be adding Martin to the active roster for insurance purposes.
Additionally, with Martin elevated to the active roster, the Lions now have nine offensive linemen active on the 53-man roster. While they only need eight to take advantage of a new rule of increasing their game-day roster from 46- to 48-players, it’s worth noting that rookie Logan Stenberg has been a healthy scratch every game this season.
While Martin will be available, he is not guaranteed to be active on Sunday. Earlier this year, the Lions elevated Jonathan Williams but made him inactive on game day as he was unneeded insurance at his position. So, if Stenberg is ready to backup, and if their injured players are ready to play, Martin may find himself a healthy scratch.
It’s also worth noting that even though wide receivers Kenny Golladay and Jamal Agnew have both been ruled out, the Lions did not elevate a receiver. They will roll with just four at the position.
