Allen Park — The Detroit Lions will be without No. 1 receiver Tyrell Williams for at least the next three weeks, placing him on injured reserve Thursday.
Williams suffered a concussion in the season opener after he took a viscous helmet-to-helmet hit from San Francisco safety Jaquiski Tartt. Williams missed last Monday’s game with the injury and had all but been ruled out by coach Dan Campbell for the team’s upcoming game against Baltimore prior to landing on IR.
Williams will be eligible to return to the Lions for the team’s Week 6 matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 17.
To fill the roster opening, the Lions signed linebacker Josh Woods off the Chicago Bears practice squad. Undrafted out of Maryland in 2018, he’s spent his entire career with the franchise, appearing in 25 games, primarily as a special-teams performer.
Woods’ seven special-teams tackles in 2020 would have tied for the third-most for the Lions.
His addition should help backfill special teams roles played by Derrick Barnes and Jalen Reeves-Maybin, who are in line for increased playing time on defense as the team shops starter Jamie Collins in trade talks.
In addition to Williams moving to injured reserve, the Lions also placed kicker Austin Seibert on the COVID-19 reserve list. That likely rules him out for Sunday’s game against Baltimore and paves the way for Ryan Santoso to be promoted off the practice squad.
The Lions used one of their four weekly practice squad protections on Santoso, which prevents him from being poached during the week. He spent the 2018 and 2019 offseasons with the Lions, prior to stints with the Titans, Giants and, most recently, the Panthers.
Santoso has attempted just two field goals since going undrafted in 2018. He made both of those attempts in this year’s season opener for the Panthers, with a long of just 29 yards.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers