With less than 24 hours until the Detroit Lions‘ Week 16 game against the Chicago Bears, the team announced several roster moves, including the activation of safety Ifeatu Melifonwu off injured reserve.

Melifonwu was activated off the list last month, but he landed back on injured reserve after picking up a finger injury. Melifonwu has been cleared, but he remains uncertain to play just yet, as he still carries a questionable tag.

Whenever he makes his 2024 debut, Melifonwu’s return comes at a good time, as the Lions are trying to cover for the injury to cornerback Carlton Davis, who won’t be back until late in the playoffs, at the earliest, because of a fractured jaw.

The return of Melifonwu gives the Lions some options in the secondary.

Assuming the Lions don’t deploy Emmanuel Moseley on the boundary, Detroit could put Melifonwu in the slot and move Amik Robertson to the outside. The Lions could also bring Brian Branch up from safety and put him in the slot, put Melifonwu at safety and Robertson on the boundary.

Now, a look at the rest of the Lions’ roster moves from Saturday.

• Waived S Brandon Joseph and WR Maurice Alexander.
• Waived DL David Bada from Reserve/Injured with an Injury Settlement.
• Activated S Ifeatu Melifonwu from Reserve/Injured (Remains listed as Questionable on Game Status Report).
• Signed OLB Mitchell Agude, WR Tom Kennedy and DL Chris Smith from the Practice Squad to the Active Roster.
• Elevated RB Jermar Jefferson and S Loren Strickland from the Practice Squad to the Active/Inactive list.

The Lions still haven’t placed running back David Montgomery on injured reserve, so there continues to be hope that he can make it back at some point. In the meantime, Jermar Jefferson has been called up as insurance.

The Lions will return to the field on Sunday, with kickoff set for 1 p.m. ET.