Michael Rothstein, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Cornelius Lucas ready to step in for the Detroit Lions

ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Cornelius Lucas has been in this situation before. Other than the side of the field he will line up on Sunday against the Chicago Bears, it is almost the exact situation.

Lucas will likely make the second start of his career Sunday, replacing right tackle LaAdrian Waddle, who injured his knee against Minnesota. And that prior familiarity with the Bears and starting against them should help.

“Definitely,” Lucas said. “You just kind of remember all of the key points that you took in that last game, you kind of just apply them to this game and just build on top of that.”

Lucas said the most consistent game he’s played in was his first one against Chicago, when he knew he was going to be a starter and knew he was going to play the entire game instead of being thrown in after an unexpected injury.

Lucas has played offensive snaps in nine of Detroit’s 13 games this season -- all of them due to being an injury replacement.

He’ll see a different assignment this time against Chicago, though. On Thanksgiving, he lined up opposite Jared Allen, who may be a future Hall of Famer. Lucas said he watched Allen somewhat growing up, but didn’t watch a lot of football.

“I was really hyped about it,” Lucas said. “... It was a lot of action. A lot of action. You’ve got to be ready for it.”

He played well, too. Lucas didn’t allow a sack or even a quarterback pressure according to Pro Football Focus. He also earned his best game grade of the year from the service during the Bears' game against Allen.

Now, the Lions hope he can duplicate it against a different Chicago lineman. This time, he’ll likely see a large amount of Willie Young, who played the first four years of his career with the Lions.

^ Back to Top ^