The news that safety Louis Delmas had knee surgery was obviously not good for the Lions.
The prognosis for his recovery isn’t so bad, though. Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free-Press reports that while Delmas is expected to miss the entire preseason, the team expects to have him back in time to play in the first week of the regular season. Coach Jim Schwartz explained that the reason Delmas had the surgery now was because the team wanted to put an end to the waiting for the knee soreness to go away on its own. Delmas had missed most of camp and an attempt to return last week last just a few plays before Delmas had to go back out.
“As soon as he is able to get out and go and keep it from getting sore then he’ll be back,” Schwartz said. “The reason he ended up getting it done was an effort to get back on the field.”
John Wendling will likely take Delmas’ spot in the starting lineup for the Lions’ Friday game against the Browns after getting the first-team reps in Thursday’s practice. Wendling, who has mostly played special teams for the Lions, got the nod over Amari Spievey, who has started 24 games for Detroit over the last two years.
He won’t be the only new face in the Lions secondary. Rookie Bill Bentley, a third-round pick, looks set to start at cornerback with Chris Houston as the Lions continue their search for a regular answer at right cornerback.