Roster News – Syndication Server

The Lions bring back QB Nate Sudfeld

The Lions bring back QB Nate Sudfeld after he missed the 2023 season with a knee injury

The Detroit Lions have brought back reserve quarterback Nate Sudfeld for the 2024 season. The team announced the signing on Wednesday.

Sudfeld was slated to be the Lions’ backup quarterback last season while rookie Hendon Hooker recovered from knee surgery. After joining the Lions prior to the 2022 season and playing sparingly in his first year in Detroit, the longtime Eagles backup struggled in training camp and preseason enough that the team brought in vet Teddy Bridgewater to compete with Sudfeld.

The competition was rendered moot when Sudfeld, now 30, tore his ACL in a preseason game. He spent the 2023 season on the Lions injured reserve.

Now he’s back, presumably as the No. 3 QB behind Jared Goff and Hooker. The Lions have talked up Hooker’s progress all offseason. Signing Sudfeld now could be a strong indication that the Lions are satisfied with the quarterback room as-is before the 2024 NFL draft.

Lions defensive end Romeo Okwara to ‘step away’ from football

Lions defensive end Romeo Okwara to ‘step away’ from football, apparently announcing his retirement

Lions defensive end Romeo Okawara announced on Tuesday that he will not be a part of the 2024 NFL season.

In a post to his Instagram, Okwara stated “After some introspection and meditation, I have decided to step away from the NFL, the game of football has been the largest part of my life for the great part of 18 years, eight of which I have been fortunate enough to play at the professional level and four of those with my brother. The experiences, friendships and camaraderie I have been lucky enough to share with my teammates, coaches and peers is something I will forever be grateful for…”

https://www.instagram.com/romeokwara/p/C4tpQ7RxI_y/

He finished the post by stating “I am excited for what’s next as I navigate this crazy transition from the game.”

The former Notre Dame defensive end came into the NFL in 2016 after being undrafted by signing with the New York Giants. After being on the roster for two seasons the Lions claimed him off waivers and he would spend the next six years with the team.

Okwara was not just talented enough to earn a seven-year career in the NFL but he survived roster changes and coaching staff overhauls. He would overcome two torn Achilles tendon injuries to play 16 games for the Lions in 2023 in which he would earn two sacks.

Lions make free agency tender offer to RB Craig Reynolds

Lions make free agency tender offer to RB Craig Reynolds, keeping the back in Detroit for another year

Craig Reynolds is back in Detroit for another year, and so is the entire running back room from the start of the 2023 season.

The Lions made the required tender offer to Reynolds, a restricted free agent. Reynolds, now 27, will earn the league minimum of $985,000 in 2024. It will be fourth with the Lions and sixth in the NFL, but he didn’t play enough in the first three years of his career to earn an accrued season in the NFL’s eyes. He played in all 17 games in 2023 as the team’s No. 3 running back and on special teams.

Reynolds’ return pairs with the decision to re-sign Zonovan Knight, who was the No. 4 RB before suffering an injury against the Panthers. Longtime practice squad member Jermar Jefferson is also still in the den on a future/reserve contract, too.

That would seem to limit the Lions’ interest in spending any appreciable assets on adding to the running back stable.

Lions re-sign K Michael Badgley

Lions re-sign K Michael Badgley ahead of free agency

Cross one name off the lost of pending free agents for the Detroit Lions. The team announced on Thursday that it has re-signed kicker Michael Badgley.

Badgley was set to be a free agent after his one-year deal in Detroit expired, but the Lions are bringing him back for a potential third season. He was Detroit’s kicker in 2022 and returned to replace Riley Patterson midway through 2023.

The veteran set a Lions playoff record with a 54-yard field goal in the wild card win over the Rams.

Terms of the deal are not yet publicly available.

Tom Kennedy among 11 players signed to reserve/future deals by the Lions

The Detroit Lions signed 11 players to reserve/future contracts, including WR Tom Kennedy and OT Connor Galvin

One of the first orders of business for all teams in the offseason is to sign players to reserve/future contracts. With the Lions season not ending until after the NFC Championship game, it took longer than other years.

The Lions added 11 players to reserve/future deals on Tuesday. A reserve/future contract is a commitment by the team to bring the players back with a chance to compete for spots in the coming season. Typically, they are players coming off the practice squad or unsigned street free agents who had some connection to the team.

The biggest name is wide receiver Tom Kennedy, who has been on and off the Lions roster since the 2019 season.

The full list:

LB Mitchell Agude
WR Maurice Alexander
OL Matt Farniok
RB Jake Funk
OT Connor Galvin
CB Craig James
S Brandon Joseph
WR Tom Kennedy
OL Michael Niese
DT Chris Smith

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Lions place TE Brock Wright on injured reserve, add Zach Ertz to the practice squad

In an unfortunate turn of events, Brock Wright’s season is now over. The Lions placed the tight end on injured reserve on Wednesday with a broken forearm.

Wright had his brightest moment of the entire season in the win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a beautiful catch-and-run that set up a touchdown. Unfortunately, he broke his arm later in the game.

As expected, the team added veteran Zach Ertz to the practice squad to take Wright’s place. In addition to signing Ertz, the Lions signed veteran DT Tyson Alualu from the practice squad to the active roster. Alualu has been playing as a practice squad elevation.

Lions shake up the practice squad ahead of the NFC Championship

The Lions players were off on Tuesday, but the team still wound up making a few changes to thr practice squad.

Detroit added two players to the practice squad. Offensive lineman Matt Farniok and running back Jake Funk are now among the practice squad members. Farniok spent a month on the Lions practice squad at the end of the regular season.

To make room for Funk and Farniok, the Lions placed RB Jermar Jefferson on the practice squad injured reserve list. The team also released OLB Raymond Johnson from his latest stint on the Detroit practice squad.

The Lions are adding TE Zach Ertz this week

The 33-year-old Ertz

Faced with the prospect of having only two healthy tight ends on the entire roster, the Detroit Lions are adding free agent Zach Ertz this week. Ertz will begin on Detroit’s practice squad, per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network.

Ertz, 33, was waived from the Cardinals injured reserve at his request back in November. He suffered a quad injury in October and has not practiced or played since.

Ertz has a strong connection to the Lions. Current Lions TE coach Steve Heiden was his position coach with the Cardinals for nearly two seasons.

Brock Wright broke his forearm in Detroit’s 31-23 win over the Buccaneers on Sunday.

Lions bring back DL to the practice squad

Lions bring back rookie DL Chris Smith to the practice squad

As the Lions nation anxiously awaits word on the fate of EDGE James Houston, the team did make a roster move involving the defense on Wednesday. The team announced it has brought rookie DT Chris Smith back to the practice squad.

It’s the third stint on the practice squad in Detroit for Smith. He joined the team as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Notre Dame. Smith showed some ability as an undersized (he’s 290 pounds) interior rusher during training camp. He never signed with any other NFL team after being released from the Lions practice squad twice during the season.

The Lions had an opening on the practice squad after last weekend’s roster moves. Detroit will determine the fate of Houston on Thursday; the pass rusher’s activation window from injured reserve ends on that day. The Lions must either activate him to the 53-man roster or else Houston’s season is over.

Lions re-sign two from the practice squad in playoff roster moves

Lions re-sign two from the practice squad, place two others on I.R. in playoff roster moves

The day before a Detroit Lions game is always full of some roster tweaking. That’s true with the Lions in the postseason too.

A day ahead of Detroit’s first-ever playoff game in Ford Field, the Lions made some moves to handle some injury situations on the active roster.

Two players were placed on injured reserve, as expected. Cornerback Jerry Jacobs and tight end James Mitchell were both already ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams with injuries.

The Lions signed two players from the practice squad to replace them on the 53-man active roster. Both CB Chase Lucas and TE Anthony Firkser had been on the Lions’ active roster earlier in the season but had been waived and then added back to the practice squad.

Detroit also elevated DT Tyson Alualu and fullback Jason Cabinda from the practice squad for the wild card game.