JAYRON KEARSE

The Dallas Cowboys are still losing ground in a COVID-19 outbreak that was discovered just 90 minutes before their most recent preseason game.

ALLEN PARK -- The Detroit Lions have released safety Jayron Kearse heading into Week 17, the team announced Tuesday. Walker returned to a near every-down role without Kearse in the lineup last week. Duron Harmon, another pending free agent, has remained in a near every-down role since the season started. Kearse missed last week’s game with a hip injury despite missing only one defensive snap in the team’s Week 15 loss in Tennessee. Kearse will be available to claim via waivers to the rest of the league once his release is official.

DETROIT -- Tracy Walker has struggled of late while working through some ailments, clearing the way for Detroit Lions safety Jayron Kearse to see increased run. Kearse played a near every-down role for the second straight week, logging 80 of Detroit’s 88 defensive snaps in Sunday’s last-second win against Washington. Duron Harmon never stepped off the field when the defense was out there, leaving 36 snaps for Walker and four for Will Harris. Kearse was third on the team with eight tackles, adding another on special teams against the Football Team. -- Marvin Jones and Marvin Hall led the way at receiver, with the Lions mixing in Danny Amendola and Quintez Cephus.

6:58 -- Detroit Lions drive starts on own 2Daniel hits Hockenson for the touchdown. Vikings 34, Lions 2010:05 -- Minnesota Vikings drive starts on own 39Third-and-6 -- Lions hold Mattison to 4 yards. Vikings 34, Lions 1314:35 -- Detroit Lions drive starts on own 31Marvin Jones makes the most of another catch, fighting hard for the first down. 2:59 -- Detroit Lions drive starts on Minnesota’s 22First-and-goal at the 9-yard line after more Danny Amendola. 4:40 -- Minnesota Vikings drive starts on own 28It’s a quick third-and-5 here for the Vikings.

DETROIT -- Lions wide receiver Marvin Hall took over most of the work left behind by Kenny Golladay’s hip injury in Detroit’s 41-21 loss to the Colts. Hall saw a career-high 42 snaps, catching four of seven targets for 113 yards. Jamal Agnew was next in line with seven snaps, moving around from the backfield to split wide. Related: No, Kenny Golladay did not skip Lions meetings over weekendMatthew Stafford goes deep to Marvin Hall for a gain of 73 yards! Flowers also saw a reduced role last week, dipping from 72% in Week 6 to 57% in Week 7.

DETROIT -- Detroit Lions linebacker Jahlani Tavai had played at least 78% of the defensive snaps in each of the team’s first three games. Detroit continued to move pieces around in its linebacker room, with Reggie Ragland seeing the most significant jump in work. They work their tail off and continue to get better.”Column: The Detroit Lions have preached patience with the process. Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray combined for 149 yards with 108 yards after contact through the first three quarters. Taylor Decker, Jonah Jackson, Frank Ragnow, Halapoulivaati Vaitai and Tyrell Crosby all played 61 of 61 offensive snaps.

DETROIT – The Detroit Lions activated safety Jayron Kearse after he served a three-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on substance abuse. Detroit released running back Ty Johnson on Thursday to clear a roster spot for Kearse. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Kearse signed a one-year, $2 million deal with Detroit as a free agent. The Lions drafted Johnson out of Maryland in the sixth round last year and he had 63 carries for 273 yards as a rookie. Detroit (1-2) hosts New Orleans (1-2) on Sunday.

ALLEN PARK -- Safety Jayron Kearse is officially back after serving a three-game suspension, and it has cost Ty Johnson his job. The running back was a sixth-round pick in last year’s draft and showed serious speed in Detroit. So Ty Johnson got squeezed out of the mix, playing just five offensive snaps in the first three games without ever touching the ball. Last week, Walker took his place in the starting lineup and never left the field. He played 24.7% of the defensive snaps in Minnesota last year while making three starts.

ALLEN PARK -- The Detroit Lions have already drawn scrutiny for how they’ve handed out playing time at safety this season. Jayron Kearse, Detroit’s biggest safety, is eligible to return to the team today after serving a three-game suspension for a substance abuse violation. Harris played just 29.2% of the defensive snaps, his lightest workload since Week 2 of his rookie season. He played 24.7% of the defensive snaps last year while making three starts. He’s tall, he creates challenges for opponents' receivers, tight ends, whoever he’s covering really because of his length and his speed.