Bullocks placed on waived/injured list
(Updated 9:15 p.m.) The Lions placed safety Daniel Bullocks on the waived/injured list Wednesday, a sign his troublesome knee injury will keep him off the field this season. If Bullocks clears waivers, as expected, he'll go on injured reserve, with another knee surgery planned in the next week or two.
(Prior to the first preseason roster cuts, teams are required to submit players with less than four years experience in the NFL through the waiver process before putting them on IR.)
Bullocks, a 2006 second-round pick, missed most of the offseason and training camp due to recurring problems with his surgically-repaired left knee. He missed the 2007 season after tearing his ACL in the preseason, but returned to the lineup last season and started 15 games.
Bullocks, who was entering the final season on his four-year rookie contract, had the knee re-examined by orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., last week. But general manager Martin Mayhew declined to discuss Bullocks' situation Monday.
"I won't get into that right now," Mayhew said. "Sometimes you gotta make tough decisions. That happens sometimes. And we'll keep evaluating the roster and make those as we go."
But if you're keeping score, this leaves only two players -- Ernie Sims and Keith Smith -- from the 2002-06 draft classes still on the Lions' roster. Sims was a '06 first-rounder, and Smith was an '04 third-rounder.
To fill Bullocks' roster spot, the Lions signed linebacker Robert Francois, an undrafted free agent rookie out of Boston College who was released by Minnesota on Tuesday to make room for Brett Favre on the Vikings' roster.
