Rakestraw's Ankle Adds Another Name to Detroit's Longest List

Ennis Rakestraw Jr. left Sunday's Week 7 game with an ankle injury and did not return. He's listed as questionable going forward. That's the whole transaction — one more cornerback, one more question mark.

The timing is what makes it sting. Detroit just got Brian Branch back from injured reserve, activated alongside Cade Mays ahead of the Packers game. The secondary finally looked like it had some reinforcement. Then Rakestraw goes down in the same week, and the corner depth chart is right back where it's been all season: D.J. Reed and Rock Ya-Sin doing the real work, Khalil Dorsey as the third option, and Kerby Joseph still out. Branch's return helps the safety picture. It does not solve the corner problem.

Reed and Clark have been carrying this secondary for weeks — 41 tackles each, Clark adding a sack and an interception — and that workload isn't going to lighten. The Lions are 4-2 with 11 games left and a playoff spot to protect. The offense can outscore a lot of problems. It cannot outscore a secondary that keeps losing bodies every time it gets one back.