If the Lions turn to him, Amik Robertson will be ready. They have a hole to fill on defense with the loss of cornerback Carlton Davis III, and "I was a man corner coming out of college, I was a man corner at the Raiders," Robertson said last week.
This was before Davis went down with a broken jaw in the Lions' 48-42 loss to the Bills, but the point remains the same: Robertson has the experience and -- don't you know it -- the swagger to shift from the slot to the outside across from rookie Terrion Arnold. He also has the proven ability.
Robertson has played almost exclusively nickel this year. Asked in the wake of Davis' injury if he'd like a bigger role on the outside, Robertson said, "I'm a football player, man. Wherever they put me at, I’ll play at a high level, play Amik Robertson, play Lions football, be myself within the scheme."
"So if that’s what we wanna do, then that’s what I’ll do," he said.
The Lions are still mulling their moves after losing Davis for at least six weeks and backup corner Khalil Dorsey for the season. Their most versatile chess piece is Brian Branch. As Dan Campbell explained Tuesday, Branch is at the center of every conversation regarding, "How do we maximize the guys that we have and where do we put them?"
"Where is he going to be most productive, and then where are we going to be helped most defensively with where he’s at versus everybody else? And they may not be the same answers, and that’s where it gets tough," Campbell said on 97.1 The Ticket.
If the Lions are comfortable moving Branch from safety back to nickel, where he can still wreak havoc in the box, it would make sense to bump Robertson to corner. Campbell floated that possibility Monday. Robertson played 500-plus snaps on the outside last season, five times the amount he played in the slot, and allowed a passer rating in coverage of 85.7, per PFF. At times, he said, he was the Raiders' "matchup corner" against top receivers.
"When you go against the (No. 1) guy, certain guys bow down. I don’t bow. I want the smoke," Robertson said. "I’m an ultimate competitor, man. When I go out there, I want to go against the best."
At 5'9, Robertson gives up size to any receiver he sees on the outside, and even most in the slot. But as he reminded everyone when he hit a few push-ups during player intros before the Lions' win over the Packers two weeks ago, "I'm pound for pound. ... Guys my size, don't compare me to them. I play bigger than they think I play."
"I just go out there and be myself, man," Robertson said. "Don’t think too big, it’s still football. I’m gonna go out there, be me, have energy, talk my sh*t. That’s just what I do. Like I always tell ‘em, man, they're gonna have to kill me. They're gonna have to kill me to stop me. That’s just my mentality."
The Lions could opt to roll with Kindle Vildor opposite Arnold, with the former having played quietly well in recent fill-in duty. They could also give Emmanuel Moseley a look as they shuffle the secondary, but the veteran corner has played two defensive snaps since early in the 2022 season due to a litany of injures, including two torn ACL's. Rookie Ennis Rakestraw is working his way back from a hamstring injury, and nearing a return to practice.
Notably, the Lions expect to open Ifeatu Melifonwu's practice window this week. The versatile defensive back has been sidelined all season by an ankle injury followed by a finger injury, but Campbell didn't rule out the possibility of Melifonwu making his debut as soon as Sunday against the Bears. He thrived late last season as a pass-rushing safety, which is the sort of role he could play next to Kerby Joseph if the Lions indeed move Branch to nickel.
Campbell said Monday that Melifonwu could play either safety or linebacker "depending on if we’re talking about base downs, third downs, is there a place, a role, I wouldn’t shut that down. Wherever we feel like he can help, we’re open to it.” The Lions also have faith in safety Brandon Joseph, who's stepped up twice this season when Branch has been sidelined.
As of Tuesday morning, Campbell said he and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn are "looking at everything, and this is an ongoing discussion right now. As of last night, we started to feel pretty good about what we think we may do." On top of losing their No. 1 corner, the Lions lost their best remaining defensive lineman in Alim McNeill to a torn ACL as the attrition on defense reaches historic levels.
"I know it’s doom and gloom, but we got plenty of weapons now," Campbell said. "We got plenty of good defensive players left here, and we'll play any way that we need to. We'll put our best 11 out there and let 'em go."
"We got the players in the room that can step up and not have no drop-off," Robertson said. "Just gotta play better, man, that’s it. We ain't got no excuses. We know what we gotta do."