The Lions shuffled up their roster on Thursday by placing one injured player on injured reserve and claiming another one off waivers.
Offensive lineman Bill Nagy was waived-injured by the Cowboys on Wednesday after he had surgery on his balky left ankle. Nagy fractured the ankle in the fourth game of the 2011 season and hurt it again practicing this year. Nagy was expected to be in the mix for the team’s center job after starting last season as a starting guard in Dallas, so you’d imagine that the Cowboys wanted to keep him on injured reserve this season.
Thanks to the Lions, that won’t happen. They claimed Nagy even though there’s a decent chance he won’t be able to play at all this year, a move we saw earlier in the offseason when the Patriots snapped up tight end Jake Ballard after the Giants put him on waivers. Center Dominic Raiola and guard Stephen Peterman are both free agents after the 2013 season, so it’s possible the Lions see Nagy as a potential piece to plug in down the road.
Detroit cleared room on the roster by placing veteran cornerback Drew Coleman on injured reserve. Coleman was signed after Aaron Berry was sent packing, but he suffered a head injury in practice that will cost him his chance to win a place in the Lions secondary.