ALLEN PARK -- Jarrad Davis had his snaps scaled back last week, and it seems he won't be getting them back any time soon.

Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said the move was made for a simple reason.

"We want him to develop, but we can't have him develop at the (expense of) a guy that could probably do that position better at this particular time," Austin said. "Jarrad will get better because he's working at it. He's getting reps in practice. But right now, we think in some of those positions that Tahir (Whitehead) is going to be a better fit for us right now."

Austin was referring to passing situations, where Davis has struggled this season.

The first-round pick has the athleticism to cover the required ground, of that there is no question. Detroit drafted him for that very reason, after Whitehead struggled against the pass last year.

But Davis has struggled too, and in some ways, he's been worse. His pass coverage ranks 21st out of the 28 qualifying middle linebackers, according to ProFootballFocus, and he's allowed 1.4 yards per every snap he spends in coverage. That's second worse in the league.

The Lions gave him time to sort it out, but it just wasn't happening quickly enough. So now they've begun swapping out Davis for another rookie, Teez Tabor, in obvious passing situations. Whitehead anchors the middle linebacker position in that dime package, which gets more speed on the field while also protecting Davis from being exposed against the pass.

Davis responded against Minnesota by turning in one of his best games of the season, so it's not wonder why the Lions seem intent on sticking with the rotations.

"We thought Tahir was doing really well in terms of how he was handling the coverage," Austin said. "So we wanted to put, like anything, whatever we think is the best for us to win that game."