The Lions on Saturday placed MLB Jarrad Davis on IR, as he deals with knee and ankle injuries. The move clears the way for rookie Jahlani Tavai to start the final 3 games. Tavai racked up 10 tackles in the Week 14 game that Davis left early, while playing just 68% of the snaps against the Vikings.

The Lions have ruled MLB Jarrad Davis (ankle) out for Sunday's game against the Buccaneers. That should mean more playing time for rookie LB Jahlani Tavai. DT A'Shawn Robinson (shoulder) has also been ruled out. Detroit has also deemed DT John Atkins (illness) questionable. That doesn't matter for IDP purposes, but missing Atkins in addition to Robinson would leave the team without 2 of its top 4 DTs from last week's lineup. LB Christian Jones (shoulder) is also questionable. That's another unimportant designation for IDP, but Jones' absence would similarly chip away at Detroit's regular starting lineup.

Lions HC Matt Patricia told reporters on a conference call Saturday that MLB Jarrad Davis' ankle injury will not end his season, according to multiple outlets. The coach also reportedly said that Davis isn't even a candidate for short-term IR. Patricia apparently didn't give any further details on the injury, though, and put no timetable on the LB's return. We've added Davis back into the LB rankings with a 10-game projection. He's still not worth drafting in most IDP leagues.

Lions MLB Jarrad Davis went down with a non-contact leg injury in Friday night's preseason game against the Bills. Davis then left the field with help, putting absolutely no pressure on his right leg. And he left the sideline on a cart after a brief examination. This has the look of a potential season-ender. Rookie Jahlani Tavai took over for Davis. We've removed Davis from our LB rankings for now.

Update: ESPN reports that Davis has a foot injury and will have an MRI Saturday. Ian Rapoport called it an ankle injury.

The Lions spent a 2nd-round pick on LB Jahlani Tavai. The Hawaii product posted just an 89.6 speed score even with the generally favorable conditions of running his 40-yard dash at his pro day. Tavai fared better in production, though, tallying 13% of Hawaii's solo tackles in 2018 and 17.6% of the total tackles. The latter number ranked 2nd in the class. We'll see whether Detroit likes Tavai in the middle or on the outside. Either way, he faces opportunity in a weak LB corps that has seen 1st-round pick Jarrad Davis disappoint.