Lions place Amani Oruwariye on injured reserve, elevate three from practice squad

Allen Park — Amani Oruwariye's stellar season has come to a premature end. The Detroit Lions placed the third-year cornerback on injured reserve Saturday with the thumb injury he suffered in the closing minutes of last week's game against the Arizona Cardinals. 

Lions coach Dan Campbell described the injury as both a bone and ligament issue on Friday, indicating surgery was on the table following further medical evaluation. 

At this stage of the season, Oruwariye had seen more playing time than anyone on Detroit's roster, racking up 938 defensive snaps and another 46 on special teams. He finishes his year having allowed just 59.4% of the passes his direction to be completed while intercepting a career-high six balls. That currently ranks third in the NFL behind Dallas' Trevon Diggs and New England's J.C. Jackson. 

Oruwariye is the second starting cornerback the Lions have lost to season-ending injury in the past three weeks after rookie Jerry Jacobs suffered a torn ACL earlier this month. Additionally, former first-round pick Jeff Okudah, who opened the season as a starter, was lost for the year after rupturing his Achilles in Week 1. 

With lingering depth issues tied to other recent injuries, the Lions are elevating three players off the practice squad for Sunday's game against Atlanta — linebackers Tavante Beckett and Curtis Boldin and tight end Shane Zylstra. 

All three have previously appeared in a regular season game this year, with Zylstra netting 96 snaps between offensive and special teams, while Beckett and Boldin have been strictly limited to special teams work.