The Detroit Lions season might be over, but GM Brad Holmes keeps on adding players. Holmes tapped into his former team, the Los Angeles Rams, and claimed safety JuJu Hughes off waivers from the playoff-bound Rams.
Hughes is in his second NFL season and played 19 total games for the Rams, almost exclusively on special teams. He did get some brief looks as a free safety in Los Angeles as he bounced between the active roster and practice squad. Hughes recorded four total tackles and played 29 snaps on defense in seven games in Los Angeles in 2021.
The 5-11, 188-pound Hughes was an undrafted free agent in 2020 after a hard-hitting career at Fresno State. Holmes, then the Rams’ director of scouting, was the primary catalyst in the Rams signing him to a contract. Interestingly, Hughes pushed another current Lions player, DE Eric Banks, off the Rams roster earlier this season in a roster move. The Lions claimed Banks off waivers when the Rams dumped him to sign Hughes from their practice squad.
Detroit can certainly use the help at safety, where only Brady Breeze and Will Harris are under contract once the league year changes to 2022.