Injuries hit Detroit Lions secondary again; Ifeatu Melifonwu (thigh) out 'a little bit'
GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Detroit Lions suffered another blow to their young secondary when rookie cornerback Ifeatu Melifonwu left Monday's 35-17 loss to the Green Bay Packers with what head coach Dan Campbell said appears to be a serious thigh injury.
"It’s a bad one," Campbell said. "It looks like he’ll be out for a little bit."
Melifonwu was injured early in the third quarter when he grabbed at his left quad while trying to cover Packers receiver Davante Adams on a deep pass.
LIONS GRADES: LBs complete fail; DBs not much better in loss to Packers
Adams beat Melifonwu for a 50-yard gain on the play, a third-and-12 conversion that set up the Packers' first of three straight touchdowns to open the second half.
"It was tough (to see him get hurt like that)," Lions cornerback Amani Oruwariye said. "He prepared all week knowing he was going to be the starter. The kid is confident. For a rookie, I’ve never seen — he’s really confident. So just got to get healthy, man. Next man up again."
A third-round pick out of Syracuse, Melifonwu made his first career start Monday in place of the injured Jeff Okudah. He made one tackle in the first half and broke up one pass, on a ball that hit his helmet.
Okudah ruptured his Achilles tendon in last week's loss to the San Francisco 49ers and will miss the rest of the season.
Bobby Price, who converted from safety to cornerback midway through training camp, replaced Melifonwu for most of the second half and earned praise from Campbell for his play.
JEFF SEIDEL: Lions unveil their blueprint for success, and show they're at least halfway there
"He was good, man," Oruwariye said. "We know (Aaron) Rodgers, he’s going to try to pick on him, he’s going to try to come at one of those guys. I thought he did well. He competed, he got hands on and just did what he was coached."
The Lions entered the season with the youngest secondary in the NFL. Okudah and Oruwariye were the only cornerbacks who had played a coverage snap before this season, and the Lions had three rookies — Melifonwu, Jerry Jacobs and slot corner A.J. Parker — and Price in backup cornerback roles.
With Melifonwu likely out for Sunday's game against the Baltimore Ravens, and perhaps longer, the Lions will have to make a move to bolster their secondary.
CARLOS MONARREZ: Harsh truth is Lions can't do much about their awful defense
They have two veteran cornerbacks on practice squad in Daryl Worley and Nickell Robey-Coleman, or could turn to free agency for a replacement.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions lose another CB: Ifeatu Melifonwu (thigh)
