WTF?!?!

Again, we can't keep any healthy DBs on this team?

I've said it before and I'll say it again: The Lions may have the worst strength and conditioning coaches in the NFL...

Lions’ Drayton Florence on IR after playing through broken arm
Posted by Michael David Smith on September 19, 2012, 5:49 PM EDT

The Lions were without both of their starting cornerbacks on Sunday in San Francisco, which forced Drayton Florence into the starting lineup. The good news is that the Lions’ starters, Chris Houston and Bill Bentley, are back at practice today. The bad news is that Florence got hurt against the 49ers.

Detroit announced today that Florence has been placed on injured reserve, and the Lions are taking advantage of the new rule that allows them to designate Florence for return. That means he’ll be eligible to return to practice after Week Eight, and to play starting in Week Ten.

Florence suffered a broken arm against the 49ers and needed surgery to put the bone back in place, but he finished the game after the injury. That earned him the praise of Lions coach Jim Schwartz.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for that guy,” Schwartz said. “He’s played a lot of football in the NFL, came in here and learned the system very quickly and got thrown into the fire very quickly. I thought he acquitted himself very well. And the team needed him. We were so short on corners that he really couldn’t come out of the game, and he went and soldiered through. We didn’t know it was broke until afterwards because, mainly, he just didn’t tell anybody. He didn’t let anybody really get a feel for it. But he had surgery.”

While he’s on injured reserve, Florence won’t count against the Lions’ 53-man roster. His space is being taken by running back Mikel Leshoure, who has been activated from the reserve/suspended list after missing the first two games while serving a suspension for his two offseason marijuana possession arrests.

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Lions' Drayton Florence plans on returning to practice next week
6:57 PM, October 25, 2012

Detroit Lions cornerback Drayton Florence said he should be ready to come off short-term injured reserve when he’s eligible next month.

Florence, who broke his right forearm in a Week 2 loss to the 49ers, can begin practicing with the Lions on Wednesday but can’t play in a game until Nov. 18 against the Packers.

He said he expects to practice Wednesday.

“Everything from the doctor’s standpoint was good with the X-rays,” Florence said. “I went to see him last week so I’m right on track.”

Released by the Denver Broncos at August’s roster deadline, Florence appeared in two games and made one start before his injury.

The Lions are still short-handed in the secondary - Jacob Lacey could miss his second straight game with a concussion Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, and rookie third-round pick Bill Bentley might need surgery after the season on a recurring shoulder injury – so Florence’s return would be a welcome one.

“We had a good feeling that he’d be able to bounce back from this and a lot of guys have,” Lions coach Jim Schwartz said. “Usually what you’re doing is you’re just sucking him up on the 53-man roster until they can. It was a little bit of an advantage that we were able to replace his roster spot, but those things are fairly predictable in healing and we’ll see what it looks like.

“He’ll be a boost to get back on the practice field, but it’ll be a bigger boost to get back on the field.”

Florence said the time off has been “frustrating” but has allowed him to catch up with the Lions’ playbook and terminology after his late arrival in Detroit.

“Hopefully, I can come back and contribute and help this team get a W,” Florence said.

Contact Dave Birkett: 313-222-2037 or dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.


http://www.freep.com/article/20121025/S ... it%20Lions