Emmanuel Moseley‘s second Lions campaign has been dealt a blow well before Week 1. The veteran corner has suffered a torn pec, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. 
Moseley is now out indefinitely, and while he recovers Detroit’s new-look CB room will have its depth tested. Making additions via free agency, trade and the draft this offseason, the Lions prioritized the position after their pass defense was an area of weakness in 2023. Efforts on that front also included retaining Moseley on a one-year, $1.13MM deal.
The short-term, low-value nature of that accord is of course due to the fact the 28-year-old only made one appearance in 2023. Moseley made his Detroit debut in Week 5 after recovering from his 2022 ACL tear only to suffer the exact same injury (albeit on the other knee). That ailment hurt his market value, but the Lions remained willing to keep him in the fold despite making a number of additions in the secondary.
Detroit signed Amik Robertson and traded for Carlton Davis during the spring. Those moves were followed up by starting off the draft with back-to-back cornerback selections (Terrion Arnold in the first round, Ennis Rakestraw Jr. in the second). Moseley, a veteran of 33 starts during his tenure with the 49ers, was one of several contenders for the starting slot corner role. With Davis and Arnold projected to play on the perimeter, the first-team spot on the inside at the start of the year will likely now go to either Rakestraw or Robertson.
Moseley will be a candidate to start the campaign on the reserve/PUP list. Players who begin the season with that designation must remain sidelined for at least four weeks, but using it would leave open the possibility of the former UDFA returning to action at some point. Attention will once again turn to rehab in Moseley’s case as the Lions move forward without him for the time being.
Mosely has not been a good Holmes decision. I hope he recovers fully.
After last year’s collection of “Maybe this will help” decisions at corner, it’s nice to see Detroit absolutely spamming the position so that they’re not thrown off by something as (sadly) inevitable as a Moseley health setback.
Sucks for the young man. You never root for injuries.
That said: Just like Green Bay is going to depend on rookies at Safety, Detroit is going to be doing the same at CB. Only difference being, X is a superior running mate to Carlton Davis. And the Lions don’t have a good pass rush outside of one player.
That defense isn’t fixed.
This is true, although I think Detroit makes up the difference a bit with their linebacking corps