GREEN BAY – The Detroit Lions will be down two more defensive linemen today for their showdown in Green Bay against the Packers with first place in the NFC North on the line.
Edge rusher Josh Paschal will miss his second consecutive game, though head coach Dan Campbell said the team is hopeful he'll be back in the lineup next week when the Lions travel to Houston to take on the Texans. Paschal's been dealing with an undisclosed illness and didn't practice all week.
Detroit will need Levi Onwuzurike, Al-Quadin Muhammad, Isaiah Thomas, James Houston, Trevor Nowaske and others to supplement their pass rush with their top three edge rushers – Aidan Hutchinson and Marcus Davenport are on IR – out of the lineup today.
The Lions will also be without rookie defensive lineman Mekhi Wingo due to an ankle injury. Wingo was a limited participant in practice Thursday but sat out Friday and was ruled out Saturday. He is inactive today. Wingo played a career-high 30 snaps against Tennessee last week as a key rotational player inside for Detroit's defensive line. The team signed defensive lineman Chris Smith to the active roster from the practice squad to help fill Wingo's role.
Also inactive for the Lions today are running back Sione Vaki (knee) and linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez (ankle). Vaki has been a key part of Detroit's special teams. Rodriguez is a versatile linebacker who plays a number of roles on defense and special teams and will be missed. The team signed linebacker Abraham Beauplan off the practice squad this week to help their numbers at linebacker.
Rounding out Detroit's inactive list against the Packers today are offensive linemen Christian Mahogany, Giovanni Manu and Colby Sorsdal.
