The Detroit Lions are finally about to kick off their regular season against the New York Jets, but there is still one more matter to attend to. Last weekend, they trimmed the roster down from 90 players in the offseason to 53 in time for the season's opening week. They have made several moves since then to shift the roster, but there is still a slight trimming to be done. The Lions can only dress 46 players for the game, meaning seven are going to be inactive. And now, we know who those players are going to be. The Lions have been very healthy during the preseason, not losing many starters or reserves to injuries at all. This week, they barely had an injury report to note, and that health will be important to carry over to the season most of the year. So the toughest decisions for Matt Patricia and staff might well revolve around who's going to see a chance to dress and who's not simply based on numbers and positional need. Here are the players they decided to shelve for the opening game.<doc-sep>The Jets will be without three key players on Monday night against the Detroit Lions, as wide receiver Jermaine Kearse, safety Marcus Maye and outside linebacker Josh Martin are inactive for New York. Kearse has been out since Week 3 of the preseason due to an abdomen injury. With the veteran wideout sidelined for the season debut, Quincy Enunwa will see an increased workload in his first regular-season action since 2017. Kearse’s absence also takes away one of rookie Sam Darnold’s top options out wide. Maye has been slow to recover from an offseason ankle procedure and then a foot injury. New York is playing it safe with its second-year safety, as rushing him back into action could result in Maye missing a chunk of the regular season. In his absence, Doug Middleton and J.J. Wilcox will split time at safety. Martin is a no-go due to a concussion, leaving the Jets somewhat thin at outside linebacker. Brandon Copeland and Frankie Luvu are expected to see extended playing time with Martin sidelined. As for the Lions, starting defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson is inactive in Matt Patricia’s head coaching debut. Robinson is an integral part of Detroit’s front seven and it’s likely that the Lions go to a rotation at defensive tackle in order to make up for his absence. Also inactive is running back Ameer Abdullah. Once a key factor in Detroit’s rushing attack, Abdullah will sit as LeGarrette Blount, rookie Kerryon Johnson and Theo Riddick handle the bulk of the work out of the backfield.<doc-sep>The Detroit Lions have declared their inactive list for their Week 1 matchup against the New York Jets on “Monday Night Football”. The big surprises are Ameer Abdullah and A’Shawn Robinson, two players who in 2017 were starters and have fallen down the depth chart to be healthy scratches for the season opener. Newcomers Romeo Okwara and Dee Virgin aren’t too surprising as they are still learning the system and of the six wide receivers, the odd man out was Brandon Powell. Kenny Wiggins is active over Joe Dahl, and Andrew Donnal was previously declared out on Saturday’s injury report, with a knee issue. New York Jets inactives include starters Marcus Maye and Jermaine Kearse:<doc-sep>
Detroit — The Detroit Lions had ruled out just one player prior to Monday night's season-opener with the New York Jets, so the team's inactives list was going to include six healthy scratches. Included in that group were two of Detroit's former second-round picks, defensive tackle A'Shawn Robinson and running back Ameer Abdullah. For Abdullah, it was a numbers game. With four running backs and a fullback on the 53-man roster, odds are one will be inactive each week. Abdullah can return kicks, but otherwise shown a limited ability to contribute on special teams. Robinson comes as more of a surprise. A workhorse for the team last season, and touted as a natural fit for Matt Patricia's defensive scheme based on the system he previously in at Alabama, it hasn't clicked as expected for the third-year lineman. More: Rogers: Expectations are high, but where will Matt Patricia take Lions? More: View from the other side: Lions vs. Jets More: Detroit News predictions: Lions vs. Jets Robinson was pushed from his starting job early in training camp by veteran Ricky Jean Francois. With Robinson being inactive, it's expected rookie Da'Shawn Hand will play significant snaps. Also inactive for the Lions are wide receiver Brandon Powell, cornerback Dee Virgin, guard Joe Dahl, Romeo Okwara and Andrew Donnel. Donnel suffered a knee injury in practice this week and had been ruled out on Saturday, and Okwara and Virgin were both claimed off waivers last week. For the Jets, the team will be down two key contributors, wide receiver Jermaine Kearse (abdomen) and Marcus Maye (foot). jdrogers@detroitnews.com twitter.com/Justin_Rogers