Lions attempt to sign veteran cornerback thwarted by Saints
The Detroit Lions have taken several injury hits to their defense over the last two games. With the recent injuries to cornerbacks D.J. Reed and Terrion Arnold, the Lions are attempting to improve their depth at the position.
Reed was recently placed on IR after suffering a hamstring injury in the Lions' 34-10 win over the Cleveland Browns in week 4. Lions cornerback Khalil Dorsey was also placed on IR with a wrist injury he suffered in practice.
Arnold, at first, it looked like he was going to be out for the season after being carted off with a shoulder injury in Sunday's 37-24 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Following further evaluation of his injury, the young cornerback could return sooner than expected.
Lions attempt to sign veteran cornerback Michael Davis
The Lions' latest effort to improve their depth at the cornerback position with the signing of veteran Michael Davis was denied by the New Orleans Saints. The Saints, who need all the help they can get with a 1-4 record, were originally intending to sign Davis to the practice squad, but extended their offer to add him to their 53-man roster.
While the Lions would be considered a better landing spot for Davis than the Saints, the veteran cornerback had a reason for choosing to play football in the Big Easy. Davis's familiarity with Brandon Staley's defense during his time with the Los Angeles Chargers ultimately won him over.
Michael Davis is signing to the #Saints’ active roster. He agreed to sign with the team’s practice squad and then the #Lions called to sign him, so up to the active roster the veteran corner goes in New Orleans.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) October 7, 2025
Staley is currently the defensive coordinator for the Saints, after being the coach of the Chargers from 2021 to 2023. Staley was also an assistant for the San Francisco 49ers in 2024.
As an undrafted free agent out of BYU has played nine seasons in the NFL, seven with the Chargers and one with the Washington Commanders. In his career, Davis has made 362 total tackles, eight interceptions (one pick six), and one sack.
Where do the Lions go from here?
With Davis now unavailable, the Lions will have to search elsewhere to add depth to their cornerback room. They've already added one veteran, Arthur Maulet, to their practice squad ahead of Sunday Night Football. But, the team also didn't elevate any cornerbacka from the practice squad to the active roster as of Wednesday.
This suggests they're either still waiting to see who they will bring up from the squad, or they're trusting in other defensive backs like Avonte Maddox and Amik Robertson to step up alongside Rock Ya-Sin.
The most intriguing player for the Tampa Bay Lightning this season is Conor Geekie
Is it too much to say that Conor Geekie is the most important player on the Tampa Bay Lightning roster this season? Yes, of course it is. Geekie could score 50 goals this year, but if Andrei Vasilevskiy misses 30 games the Lightning are going to struggle. The same with Nikita Kucherov, Jake Guentzel, Brayden Point, Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, so on and so forth.
So important, no, but intriguing, sure. We did this a couple of years ago with Brandon Hagel and some of the key points still stand. Geekie, like Hagel before him, could be the key to the Lightning having more than two lines with the capability to score. Of all of the forwards on the roster, Geekie and Gage Goncalves probably have the most room to improve their point totals. If they do, the Lightning become serious Stanley Cup contenders.
It was an up-and-down-and-back-up season for Geekie. He surprised a lot of people by making the team out of training camp. During their current run, the Lightning haven’t exactly been a haven for younger players, so to see the 21-year-old with a whopping two games of AHL experience make the roster on Day One was a bit of a shock.
He held his own for the early going, and showcased some of the skill and physicality that intrigued the Lightning. His effectiveness waned as the season toiled on, and a nine-game pointless streak ended with him being assigned to Syracuse to begin the month of February. The demotion turned into rejuvenation. Geekie was nothing short of beastly with the Crunch as he racked up 20 points (11 goals, 9 assists) in 24 games.
A more aggressive and confident Geekie returned to the Lightning at the end of the season and he potted two goals in three games. Much like the rest of the team, his offense deserted him in the opening round loss to the Panthers where he recorded a solitary assist in the five games while averaging 12:22 of ice time.
The off-season was spent refining his game and working with skills coaches to improve his skating technique. He is not an oafish skater by any means, but lacks some efficiency. He has looked much better in training camp and the pre-season, but there is still room to grow.
The skills are definitely there, and now that he has a season under his belt, his confidence should be there as well. Last season it seemed he deferred a little too much at the NHL level, opting to pass or wait for his teammates to help him. Yet, when he went down to Syracuse, the ability to create his own offense, something that was a calling card in his junior hockey days, returned.
That’s the Conor Geekie that the Lightning can use this year. He might not get a crack at the top-six this season, and the early line rushes have him on the fourth line with Pontus Holmberg and Curtis Douglas, but that might be a blessing in disguise for the Bolts. Having a player with his offensive talent, who is also willing to impose his will physically can create some match-up problems for opponents.
Tampa Bay doesn’t need him to score 30 goals this year. He might be capable of that in the future, but for the 2025-26 season they need him to play consistent hockey on a nightly basis. If he can get to the 15-goal/35-point level as a bottom-six forward then things should be tracking pretty well for the Bolts.
With Goncalves taking a spot on the second line this season, the top six are fairly settled. It’s the next two lines where the Lightning still have plenty of questions, especially with Nick Paul on the sidelines. On paper, it should be better than last season, but banners aren’t hung based on assumptions and hope. They’re hung when the players live up to or out perform their expectations.
For the Lightning, we know that Nikita Kucherov is going to put up 100+ points and Brayden Point is going to be around 40 goals. We don’t know if Conor Geekie is going to be able to take that next step. If he is able to, then Tampa Bay should not only have a successful 2025-26 season, but he could cement himself as part of the next core of Lightning impact players.
