ALLEN PARK >> Jamal Agnew won’t be replaced by just one of his teammates, it will take a village.
The Detroit Lions nickel back, who is a return specialist and occasionally pitches in on offense, was placed on injured reserve on Monday for a knee injury sustained in the win over the Green Bay Packers on Oct. 7.
“He’s obviously a very valuable player to our team. Really can do a great job of turning field position, does a great job when he’s out there at gunner, plays defense. So, a pretty multiple, versatile player for us,’’ coach Matt Patricia said on Monday. “But that’s the nature of the game. We have guys that are going to have to step up and fill those roles whether it’s one person or multiple guys. We’ll just try to put the best guy out there that we can.”
Patricia would not say if Agnew will return this season. It could be too soon to know.
“That’s the good thing about that kind of designation is we have options. If we get to that point where we can expedite him or use him, then we’ll try to do that. But it’s just a matter of time right now,’’ Patricia said.
He also wouldn’t clarify if Agnew will have surgery, saying he is still being evaluated.
After the injury, Nevin Lawson moved from corner to nickel to fill in for Agnew. So it’s possible that Lawson could fill in on Sunday when the Lions play the Dolphins in Miami. Don’t be surprised if Ameer Abdullah gets the nod on returns.
Lawson is good with playing nickel and said he doesn’t have a preference when it comes to position.
“I just want to be on the field so I can be out there competing and playing,’’ Lawson said on Monday. “At the end of the day it doesn’t matter where you are, you still going to have a chance to make plays..’’
Patricia and defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni love their players to be versatile.
“It’s two different roles, on the outside it’s really an island, you’re really by yourself,’’ Lawson said. “When you’re playing the nickel you have to constantly communicate with the safeties and the linebackers. It’s definitely different just knowing what to do and make sure you know what to do and you, the linebackers and safeties are on the same page.’’
With this new Patricia-style defense it occasionally looks like a corner has moved into nickel, but Lawson said things aren’t always how they look. A corner could move inside covering a certain receiver and that doesn’t necessarily make him a nickel.
“It’s different when a guy is playing inside mostly the whole game, that’s when he’s truly a nickel,’’ Lawson said.
He also specified that tackling is more important when playing inside.
“It’s important playing corner, but it’s definitely more important playing slot because you’re asked to add to the run game so you have to be able to come up and make tackles as well, not just tackles you have to make good open-field tackles,’’ Lawson explained.
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