Lions place troublesome WR Titus Young on injured reserve

• Detroit Lions have placed WR Titus Young on injured reserve
• Young purposely lined up in the wrong spot on the field in a loss to the Green Bay Packers and yelled at receivers coach Shawn Jefferson
• Young was deactivated for a Thanksgiving loss to the Houston Texans

The Detroit Lions found a creative way to rid themselves of a major locker-room distraction, placing misbehaving wide receiver Titus Young on season-ending injured reserve today with a knee injury.

Young has missed practice time throughout the season with a sore knee – he was last listed on a practice participation report for injury reasons Nov. 16 – and all IR transactions must be approved by the NFL, but his benching for the year has more to do with recent behavioral issues than injuries.

Lions coach Jim Schwartz sent Young home from the team twice in the past three weeks and three times since May.

On Nov. 19, a day after Young purposely lined up in the wrong spot on the field in a loss to the Green Bay Packers and yelled at receivers coach Shawn Jefferson on the sideline, Schwartz told Young he wasn't welcome at the facility anymore.

Young was deactivated for a Thanksgiving loss to the Houston Texans, and he returned to practice last Wednesday only to be sent home again after going through team meetings on Saturday in preparation for Sunday's loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

In May, Young was sent home from voluntary workouts after he punched teammate Louis Delmas.

On Monday, Schwartz ruled out Young as a potential fill-in for Ryan Broyles, who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee against the Colts, and indicated Young wasn't welcome back with the team this year.

"I can't predict what the future's going to hold, but I know this right now, right now he is not (with the team) and if I have any change in that, I'll let you guys know as soon as possible," Schwartz said.

By placing Young on injured reserve rather than outright releasing him, the Lions retain the second-year receiver's rights and can try to salvage something for him in a trade before April's draft.

The Lions also officially placed Broyles on injured reserve today and released veteran safety Erik Coleman. Receiver Kris Durham was promoted from the practice squad, and the Lions signed former Vikings safety Tyrell Johnson, who they worked out in September, and added receiver Troy Burrell (Wayne State) to the practice squad.

They still have one vacancy on their 53-man roster.

Birkett also writes for the Detroit Free Press.