Ifeatu Melifonwu earning role in Lions secondary
DB has played well enough to have spot in playing rotation
For years, it’s seemed like every time Ifeatu Melifonwu has had a chance to earn more playing time, something has got in his way.
In 2021, Melifonwu suffered a serious quad injury in his first career start, a week after Jeff Okudah was lost for the season to a torn Achilles tendon.
Last year, he missed four games in the middle of the season with an ankle injury he suffered after Tracy Walker went down for the year with a torn Achilles.
Melifonwu broke a finger on his hand in early November that delayed his entry to the starting lineup this season, but the third-year defensive back has played well in starts the past two weeks — just in time for the Lions to get C.J. Gardner-Johnson back from a torn pectoral muscle that once appeared to be a season-ending injury.
Gardner-Johnson’s status for Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings remains unclear after two days of practice, and if he plays he seems unlikely to handle a full complement of snaps in his first game since Sept. 17.
Asked Thursday what Gardner-Johnson’s return means for Melifonwu’s immediate future, Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said that’s up in the air, too.
“Best guy plays,” Glenn said. “Best guy plays. It’s simple. So, whoever the best guy is in practice, that’s who’s going to play. So, I don’t want to make anything bigger than what it is, so please don’t ask.”
Gardner-Johnson was one of the Lions’ biggest free agent additions of the offseason and played like it the first two games of the year. He had five tackles and two pass breakups in a Week 1 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, then had a team-high-tying eight tackles in a Week 2 loss to the Seahawks, when he played most of the game with one arm.
Kerby Joseph led the Lions in interceptions last season and is the team’s rangiest cover man and starting free safety, but Melifonwu has played well enough to at least have a spot in the playing rotation going forward.
“If you guys know my background when it comes to safeties, I’m a big fan of safeties that
have a corner background,” Glenn said. “And that’s one of the reasons he’s here because he’s able to cover like we need to like a corner, but he is tough enough and physical enough as a safety to get down in the box and go make plays.”
A third-round pick out of Syracuse in 2021, Melifonwu has been at his playmaking best the past two weeks, when he’s totaled 13 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble and two pass deflections. Coming into the season, Melifonwu had 29 tackles, five pass deflections and no quarterback hits in 17 career games.
In last week’s win over the Denver Broncos, Melifonwu forced a turnover with sack-fumble on quarterback Russell Wilson on the Lions’ first defensive series and had one pass breakup in the red zone.
He also allowed a touchdown on a goal line play when he was otherwise in good coverage, and he said Thursday he’s still burned by that and other mistakes.
“I thought it was decent,” Melifonwu said of his performance. “Even with that game, I’m not even focusing on the things that I did right. I’m focusing on, I think, more the stuff — I left plays out there. I’m thinking more about them plays I left out there than the plays I actually made.”
Melifonwu pointed to the middle of his hand in the locker room after the Broncos game describing the injury he suffered in a November practice when he jammed his finger on tight end Brock Wright in one-on-one pass rush drills.
“I just did a swim move and my finger just poked somewhere on him and it just shot back and broke right here,” he said.
Melifonwu wore a club on his hand for three weeks and played with his fingers free (but his hand still casted) in a Week 14 loss to the Chicago Bears for the first time since the injury.
Glenn said he hopes to find packages for all three of his safeties to contribute once everyone is healthy, and Melifonwu insists he’s not worried about his own playing time with Gardner-Johnson soon back in the mix.
“I approach it the same, just I don’t take anything for granted and try to just maximize the reps I’m out there and get better each rep, each practice,” he said. “The only thing I can control is my play on the field and my performance, that’s all I’m thinking about.”