Lions Not Throwing Away Jerry Jacobs

Detroit still believes in the third-year corner.

Jerry Jacobs has gone through ups and downs during his three seasons with the Detroit Lions. 

The cornerback made the 53-man roster after going undrafted in 2021 and has worked his way into a starting role. With Emmanuel Moseley going down with a season-ending injury, Jacobs has remained a key player at the forefront of Detroit's secondary. 

While he leads the team with three interceptions, Jacobs has struggled at times to stay in front of his assignments defensively. Opponents have completed 47 of 71 passes thrown in his direction for 602 yards and seven touchdowns, per Pro Football Focus. 

This equates to an NFL passer rating of 107.8. He has been penalized nine times and has a PFF coverage grade of 54.5.

Despite those struggles, the Lions don't plan to move away from Jacobs in the immediate future. 

"Listen, Jerry’s not a guy that we’re throwing away and I don’t want anybody to think that. Listen, there’s still skins on the wall with that player also, alright?" said defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. "And he’s done some good things for us, but the thing is, man, we’ve got to do everything we can to play at a high level and we’re going to continue to find the guy that’s going to do that for us.”

Against the Bears in Week 14, the Lions split reps at the cornerback position between Jacobs and newcomer Kindle Vildor. 

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Detroit signed Vildor to the practice squad on Nov. 14 before bringing him to the active roster on Dec. 5 when Alim McNeill was placed on injured reserve.

A four-year NFL vet, Vildor has experience that the Lions secondary lacks. He played 17 defensive snaps Sunday against the Bears. 

Over the course of his career, Vildor has played 47 games with 22 starts. He has one interception. In his 17 snaps against Chicago, Vildor allowed three completions for 11 yards and finished with three tackles. 

Moving forward, Vildor could be a bigger part of the Lions' secondary because of his veteran prowess and experience. 

"Well, I would say this about him, he’s played a good amount of football," Glenn said. "In Chicago actually he played, I think he started there a couple of years, so he’s a common presence. He’s a guy that’s been around like I said before. He’s very smart and he understands exactly what we’re doing. So, we want to continue to try to utilize that."