ALLEN PARK T.J. Hockenson Jersey Mens , Mich. (AP) — Ziggy Ansah may have played his final game with the Detroit Lions.The Lions put Ansah and tight end Michael Roberts on injured reserve Tuesday with shoulder problems. Detroit signed tight end Jerome Cunningham and offensive lineman Leo Koloamatangi from the practice squad to the active roster.Detroit kept Ansah this season with the franchise tag , but he’s dealt with injuries all season and has played in only seven games. He’s still managed four sacks, bringing his total to 48 in six seasons with the Lions.Detroit beat Arizona 17-3 last weekend and plays at Buffalo next. The Lions (5-8) are a longshot to make the playoffs, even more so without Ansah.It’s not clear where Ansah and the Lions go from here. Detroit drafted Ansah with the fifth overall pick in 2013, and he has been an effective pass rusher ever since. He had a career-high 14½ sacks in 2015, and although he managed only two the following season, he bounced back with 12 in 2017.But this season, he left the opener in September with a shoulder injury and missed the next six games. He had three sacks in his first four games after returning Jahlani Tavai Detroit Lions Jersey , but he was hurt again against Arizona.Coach Matt Patricia held a conference call Tuesday, but it was before the team announced Ansah’s move to IR.Roberts has played in eight games this season, starting two. He has nine catches for 100 yards and three touchdowns. On September 3, just a week before their season opener against the New York Jets, the Detroit Lions committed their future to safety Quandre Diggs. That day, they inked the 25-year-old defender to a three-year, $18.6 million extension.As always, there’s some concern that when a player gets paid Jahlani Tavai Jersey 2019 , they lose some motivation. It’s hard to play with a chip on your shoulder when you’ve been given direct affirmation like that. But Diggs insisted nothing would change.“I’m always going to have motivation, man,” Diggs said back in September. “I’m a sixth-round draft pick, so at the end of the day 32 teams passed me up, so I’m always going to have a chip on my shoulder. Ain’t gonna be nothing different.”It didn’t take long to realize he wasn’t messing around. On the very first defensive play of the season, Diggs jumped in front of Sam Darnold’s first career NFL pass and took it back for six. Of course the rest of the game—and the rest of the season—wouldn’t go so merrily. Diggs’ play remained at a high level, but the players around him struggled. While Diggs finished with a 78 tackles and three tackles for loss—both team-highs among defensive backs—the team finished 30th in passer rating allowed and t-27th in yards per attempt allowed. But Diggs played through it all, continually laying big hits along the way Color Rush Jahlani Tavai Jersey , and playing nearly every single defensive snap of the season. When the season finale came, and the Lions had nothing more to play for than pride, Diggs did what he always did, make tackle after tackle. And while the 2018 season didn’t produce a lot of memorable moments for the Lions fans, Diggs produced one last positive memory to go out on. After starting the season with a pick-six on the very first play of the season, Diggs picked DeShone Kizer on what would be the final defensive play of the 2018 season—sealing Detroit’s first shutout in 22 years. Sunday may have been the final game for Glover Quin, who has been the heart and soul of the Lions’ secondary for the past six years. But his sendoff may have also signaled the start of a new era; an era in which Quandre Diggs—a Pro Bowl alternate—takes over the mantle of emotional leader among the defensive backs. He certainly went out on a good impression.
