Lions DE Ezekiel Ansah (ankle), OLB DeAndre Levy (knee) and MLB Tahir Whitehead (knee) are active for today's game against the Bears. It'll be just Levy's 2nd appearance this season, and he's not expected to play a full role. Whitehead returns after missing last week. His tackle upside makes him worth any added durability risk for IDP lineups. Ansah has been playing through "questionable" tags for weeks.

The Lions have ruled DB Brian Branch (ankle) out for Sunday's game against the Panthers. They might get S Kerby Joseph (hip) and CB Emmanuel Moseley (knee, hamstring) back. Both are officially questionable but finished the practice week with full participation Friday.

The Lions re-signed LB Alex Anzalone this offseason and opened spring workouts with him and 2nd-year LB Derrick Barnes as starters. LBs coach Kelvin Sheppard says no one's job is "safe," though. "[Anzalone] has the most time-on-task in my room, but that doesn't designate him the starter," Sheppard tells PrideofDetroit.com. "The things we did last year are not acceptable ... so don't tell me about what a guy did last year." Detroit also added Chris Board and 6th-round rookie Malcolm Rodriguez, brought back former Lion (and 1-year Jet) Jarrad Davis, and got Shaun Dion Hamilton back from a full year spent on IR. In the same interview, Sheppard had praise for Barnes ("The sky's the limit for him."), Board ("He has a unique skill set."), Anthony Pittman ("putting on a clinic so far") and Rodriguez ("It's arrows up on him."). Sheppard added that Rodriguez has already showed the potential to call the defensive plays, which would mean wearing the green dot and likely staying on the field 3 downs. The whole situation will need to play out in camp and preseason, and we're not ready to invest in any of them. Barnes and Rodriguez look most intriguing as dynasty stashes and late-round dart throws in IDP fantasy football leagues.

Lions LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin (shoulder) and DL Michael Brockers (neck) are active for today's game against the Packers. Each guy entered the day questionable.

Lions LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin (shoulder) and DL Michael Brockers (knee) are active for today's game against the Falcons.

The Lions have ruled EDGE Trey Flowers (knee) and CB A.J. Parker (ankle) out for Thursday's game against the Bears. DL Michael Brockers (knee) is questionable after being limited in practice the past 2 days.