Lions inactives vs. Rams: James Houston among the healthy scratches

The Detroit Lions announced the inactive players for the Week 1 matchup with the Los Angeles Rams. There were no real surprises in who wound up being declared inactive in the opener.

Defensive tackle DJ Reader was questionable for the game, but he was ruled out earlier on Sunday. Reader is continuing to get ready after missing all offseason as he recovers from quad surgery from an injury suffered last December when Reader was with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Rookie safety Loren Strickland had already been ruled out in Friday’s final injury report. Strickland has a thumb injury. Fellow safety Ifeatu Melifonwu was listed as doubtful in that injury report with an ankle issue, and he too is inactive. Melifonwu injured the ankle in the Lions second preseason game and only returned as a limited participant in practices late this week.

The healthy scratches:

EDGE James Houston

OT Colby Sorsdal

OT Giovanni Manu

LB Trevor Nowaske