Amari

Spievey

Chris Harris, acquired off waivers last month, finished the game as the Lions’ strong safety. “It’s a little like relief pitchers in baseball,” coach Jim Schwartz said. “Sometimes a pitcher doesn’t have his best stuff and you have to go to your bullpen. The bullpen was able to bring the win out.” It sounds like Spievey will return to the starting lineup on Thanksgiving.

“For like a couple months, I had (headaches) constantly, like every day, all day,” said Spievey, who had two serious concussions before entering the NFL. Spievey is still taking medication for the headaches, which have just recently slowed down. He is practicing this week as the first-team strong safety.

The Lions hosted Jones in early May. Jones was a 16-game starter for the Bucs each of the past two seasons, and has started 85 games since 2006. He was brutal both in coverage and against the run for Tampa’s 32nd ranked scoring defense last season, however, and has just one pick in his past 32 games. He’ll compete with Amari Spievey and Erik Coleman at strong safety. Jones’ signing throws cold water on coach Jim Schwartz’s weekend praise of Coleman.

Spievey had been sitting out OTAs due to a concussion he suffered in Detroit’s Wild Card loss, but coach Jim Schwartz said last week he expected his strong safety “back on the field pretty quickly.” It’s a concern whenever a concussion lingers for such a long period, but Spievey will be 100 percent for camp.

Coleman is competing with Amari Spievey for the strong safety job after a leg injury limited him to four games in 2011. Coleman understands Spievey is the favorite. “Of course I would like to be the starter, but I also love playing special teams,” Coleman said. "(I) want to win. So I’ll do whatever it takes.”

It’s concerning news for a player who suffered a serious concussion in Detroit’s Wild Card loss, but coach Jim Schwartz doesn’t believe the issues are related. “He had been having some headaches a couple days ago and we sent him back to make sure that they weren’t (related to the concussion),” Schwartz said. “And it doesn’t look like they are, but again, anytime we have anything like that we’re going to take a step back and put the breaks on. ... But he should be fine going forward.” The Lions are already without FS Louis Delmas (knee surgery).

The Lions can breathe a sigh of relief, as Spievey avoided a concussion after suffering a “serious” one in last year’s Wild Card playoff loss. Spievey should be fine going forward. He’s favored to start at strong safety in Detroit.

The Lions never announced Spievey’s injury, but the safety suggested after the playoff game that he was concussed. A 60 Minutes feature confirmed that Spievey played the rest of game after sustaining the concussion in the first half. Coach Jim Schwartz said the team is following “protocol” with Spievey and expects him “back on the field pretty quickly.”

Coleman missed most of the 2011 season due to a knee injury. Now 30 and eight pounds lighter, injuries to both Spievey and Delmas have allowed Coleman “a lot” of reps with the first-team defense. This competition figures to run well into August.

Wendling started in place of Louis Delmas (knee). He was so bad in coverage that the Lions eventually brought Amari Spievey in. “When we blitzed, we knew they would throw to the tight end,” coach Jim Schwartz said. "[Wendling] was isolated, but we have to be able to blitz.” Vernon Davis finished with five catches, 73 yards and two touchdowns.