Category: Roster News

Lions to sign veteran DT Tyson Alualu

Lions to sign veteran DT Tyson Alualu to help build up the interior defense

Faced with the potential of being without top defensive tackle Alim McNeill for Sunday’s game in Chicago, the Detroit Lions are turning to a veteran free agent for help. The Lions are bringing Tyson Alualu into the den.

Per his agent, Alualu is signing with Detroit. The 36-year-old has not played in 2023 after spending the last six seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Prior to that, Alualu played seven seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Alualu has been an effective interior run defender and complimentary pass rusher for years, though he is not a great penetrator as a 1T-3T tackle. In 17 games in 2022 (two starts), he logged 13 tackles, a half-sack and two QB hits for Pittsburgh.

[lawrence-related id=99874]

WR Dylan Drummond replaced by a different preseason phenom on the Lions practice squad

The Detroit Lions cut summer phenom WR Dylan Drummond from the practice squad to sign veteran Tom Kennedy, who once had the same summer buzz

Over the summer, Detroit Lions fans quickly learned the name Dylan Drummond. The undrafted rookie wide receiver from nearby Eastern Michigan was a training camp and preseason darling, a popular projection to stick on the initial 53-man roster.

Drummond did indeed parlay an impressive summer into a spot in Detroit, albeit on the Lions’ practice squad. And now he’s the latest in a line of recent preseason phenoms to fade away quickly after being replaced by one of his predecessors.

On Wednesday, the Lions signed veteran wideout Tom Kennedy to the practice squad and released Drummond to make room. Kennedy returned after being waived/injured over the summer, ironically a situation that presented Drummond with a bigger opportunity. A free agency visit early in the week convinced the Lions to sign Kennedy and let Drummond go.

The sticky-handed Drummond caught nine passes for 87 yards in the preseason. He showed the ability to get open quickly out of the slot, and Drummond also offered some return man potential — basically Kennedy’s role in Detroit for most of the last four seasons.

Alas, Drummond’s summer star lost some luster over the season. The Lions brought Kennedy back to effectively extinguish the once-bright light. Now Drummond goes the way of Kalil Pimpleton, Chris Lacy, Jace Billingsley, Travis Fulgham, Andrew Peacock and other wideouts who thrived in the summer but couldn’t make it in the autumn or winter, at least not with the Lions.

Kennedy remains one of the very few summer success stories who emerged as a viable NFL talent. Drummond could still find a path in the NFL, but it’s a big climb after being replaced by Kennedy. Drummond was buried as the No. 3 WR on the Detroit practice squad (behind Daurice Fountain and Maurice Alexander) as a smallish wideout with poor speed (4.62 40-yard dash) and lacking considerable collegiate accomplishment.

Lions are signing veteran EDGE Bruce Irvin to the practice squad

Irvin bagged 3.5 sacks for the Seahawks in 2022

In search of more potential help on the pass rush, the Detroit Lions are bringing in veteran Bruce Irvin. Per numerous reports, Irvin is signing with the Lions practice squad.

Detroit opened the space on the practice squad earlier in the day by releasing running back Devine Ozigbo. By adding Irvin, the Lions should remain hopeful that Irvin has plenty left in the tank as the 36-year old veteran is playing for his 5th team in as many seasons.

Irvin was the 15th overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft to the Seattle Seahawks. During that time it was surprising to see Irvin selected that high as the national media didn’t have him predicted to be a first round pick. However, he had become a top draft pick due to his strong Scouting Combine performance where he ran a 4.50 second 40-yard dash and 6.70 second time in the 3-cone drill.

Overall, he spent six seasons with the Seattle Seahawks where he posted 25.5 sacks and 31 tackles-for-loss. In addition to that, he spent three seasons with the Raiders and spent time with the Bears, Falcons and Panthers. Last season, Irvin played for the Seahawks and he posted 3.5 sacks with 10 games started.

This move might not necessarily move the needle to give the Lions an elite edge rusher opposite of Aidan Hutchinson. However, it does give them another body to try and add into their rotation as they await the return of James Houston. Head coach Dan Campbell said to the media today that “late December” seems like the ideal timeline for a potential return from Houston.

Time will tell on James Houston. For now, the Lions move forward with Bruce Irvin. They’ll hope he’ll be able to get up to speed as the Lions push for their first division championship since 1993. To capture that, they’ll need help with their pass rush. Maybe Irvin can provide a spark down the stretch for Detroit.

Lions release RB Devine Ozigbo from the practice squad

It’s the 10th time Ozigbo has been on the Lions transaction wire since July

The Detroit Lions made an interesting move at the bottom of the roster on Tuesday. Per Aaron Wilson of KPRC-2 and quickly confirmed by another source, the Lions have released running back Devine Ozigbo from the team’s practice squad.

Ozigbo has bounced between the Lions active roster and practice squad for several weeks while Detroit dealt with several injuries at running back. He appeared in three games, getting three carries and one reception in the Week 6 win over the Buccaneers.

Now that the team is healthy, Ozigbo’s services were not as in demand in Detroit. The Lions also have Jermar Jefferson on the practice squad behind David Montgomery, Jahmyr Gibbs and Craig Reynolds.

Ozigbo is now free to sign with any team. It opens up a practice squad spot for the Lions, who were at the player limit, too.

Lions sign LB Trevor Nowaske from the practice squad

Nowaske is an undrafted rookie from Saginaw Valley State who played well in the preseason, especially on special teams.

Even on a week where no players are in the building, the Detroit Lions are amking roster moves. On Thursday of the bye week, the Lions signed linebacker Trevor Nowaske from the practice squad.

Nowaske is an undrafted rookie from Saginaw Valley State. He signed with the Lions right after the draft and has played extensively on both defense and special teams in the preseason. He’s a Detroit-area native.

To make room for Nowaske, the Lions waived running back Devine Ozigbo. He had been in Nowaske’s shoes, signed from the practice squad to the active roster prior to Week 8.

Lions bring RB Jermar Jefferson back

Jefferson is back on the practice squad after being waived/injured in training camp

A familiar name is back in Detroit after being off the team for a bit. Running back Jermar Jefferson has returned to the Lions, signing on the team’s practice squad.

Jefferson was a 7th-round pick in 2021 by Detroit. He played sparingly as a rookie, gaining 74 yards on 15 carries and scoring twice. Jefferson spent 2022 on Detroit’s practice squad.

He was waived with injured status this August. Ironically, he’s back in Detroit due to an injury for another practice squad running back, Mo Ibrahim.

The Lions made room for Jefferson by placing Ibrahim on the practice squad I.R. the undrafted rookie from Minnesota dislocated his hip on his first-ever NFL touch in Detroit’s loss to the Ravens.

[lawrence-related id=97817]

Lions activate Josh Paschal in latest set of roster moves

Lions activate Josh Paschal in latest set of roster moves ahead of Week 7, which also includes promoting 2 RBs from the practice squad

Josh Paschal is back on the active roster. True to head coach Dan Campbell’s words on Friday, the Lions activated the second-year defensive lineman on Saturday ahead of the Week 7 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens.

Paschal has been on injured reserve since the Week 1 win over the Chiefs. He suffered a knee injury that did not need surgery. The Lions started Paschal’s window to return on October 13th and activated him in time to play in Baltimore.

To make room for Paschal, the Lions released veteran tight end Darrell Daniels. That should be seen as a good sign that James Mitchell is healthy enough to play after missing time with a hamstring injury.

Detroit also promoted two running backs from the practice squad to the active roster for Week 7. Devine Ozigbo joins the gameday roster for the second week in a row. He’ll be joined by Mohamed Ibrahim, who was signed to the practice squad this week.

Lions place 2 players on I.R. in a series of moves ahead of Week 6

The Lions made a series of internal moves to handle some injury issues ahead of Week 6

As expected, the Detroit Lions made some injury-related roster moves on Saturday ahead of the Week 6 matchup with the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay.

The Lions placed two players on injured reserve. Cornerback Emmanuel Moseley will miss the rest of the season with a torn right ACL, while running back Zonovan Knight will miss at least four games with a left shoulder injury. Both injuries happened in the Week 5 win over the Carolina Panthers.

[lawrence-related id=97254]

The I.R. moves opened up two roster spots which the Lions filled internally. Detroit activated CB Khalil Dorsey from the injured reserve to take Moseley’s spot. Offensive lineman Dan Skipper was signed from the practice squad to the active roster. Skipper, who has been back on the practice squad after spending the summer with the Indianapolis Colts, will help bolster the offensive line depth.

With Knight on I.R. and Jahmyr Gibbs ruled out with an injured hamstring, the Lions added a running back by elevating RB Devine Ozigbo from the practice squad. He’ll be the third RB behind David Montgomery and Craig Reynolds in Sunday’s matchup with Tampa Bay.

Lions shuffle up the veterans on the practice squad

Lions shuffle up the practice squad, adding veterans Anthiny Averett and Anthony Firkser to the mix

On a day where the Lions did not have a practice, Detroit made some changes to the team’s practice squad.

The Lions brought in two experienced vets to the unit, adding TE Anthony Firkser and CB Anthony Averett. To make room, Detroit dumped CB Darius Phillips and WR Trey Quinn from the practice squad.

Firkser is a 28-year-old who has played for several NFL teams since entering the league out of Harvard in 2017. He was last with the Patriots on their practice squad. He’s caught 115 passes in his career.

Averett brings starting experience of his own, as well as some special teams and postseason work in his time with the Ravens.

Neither Phillips nor Quinn appeared in a game for the Lions, though Quinn did have some action in the preseason.

Lions to sign veteran CB to the practice squad

Averett has started 27 games in his 5-year career as an outside CB

The Detroit Lions are bringing in some outside help at cornerback to help mitigate the loss of Emmanuel Moseley to a torn ACL.

According to a report from Tom Pelissero, the Lions are bringing in Anthony Averett to the practice squad. Averett, 28, was last with the San Francisco 49ers during the preseason. He was waived off their injured reserve in early August.

The Alabama product has started 27 games in his five-year NFL career, including 14 with the Baltimore Ravens in the 2021 season. He played seven games (6 starts) for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022 after missing the first part of the season with a broken thumb. Averett plays almost exclusively on the outside despite weighing just 180 pounds.