Tag: Anthony Pittman

Lions roster moves: 3 defenders placed on I.R., Anthony Pittman returns

Detroit Lions roster moves: 3 defenders placed on I.R., Anthony Pittman returns and some practice squad swapping

Tuesday is typically the player’s day off for the Detroit Lions at the team’s practice facility. It’s also often the day when player personnel moves get made, and this Tuesday after the Lions loss to the Bills was no exception.

As expected, the Lions placed three defensive players on injured reserve. All three were injured in Sunday’s 48-42 defeat:
DT Alim McNeill
CB Carlton Davis
CB Khalil Dorsey

McNeill (knee) and Dorsey (leg) are out for the season, while there’s a chance Davis could return from a broken jaw before the Super Bowl, should the 12-2 Lions make it that far.

The Lions added one player to the active roster. The previously reported move was signing former Lions LB Anthony Pittman from the Jaguars practice squad.

Detroit also made a swap on the practice squad. The Lions added cornerback Stanley Thomas-Oliver to the practice squad and released EDGE Isaiah Thomas.

That leaves two openings on the 53-man active roster heading into Wednesday’s practice to get ready for Sunday’s game at Chicago against the Bears.

 

Report: Lions snatching LB from Jaguars practice squad

Report: Lions snatching LB from Jaguars practice squad

The Detroit Lions plan to sign linebacker Anthony Pittman to their active roster away from the Jacksonville Jaguars’ practice squad, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.

Pittman joined the Jaguars’ practice squad in October after spending the first five seasons of his NFL career with Detroit, where he signed as an undrafted free agent out of Wayne State in 2019. He spent this past offseason with Washington but was released by the Commanders after the preseason in August.

Pittman was elevated to the Jaguars’ active roster for Jacksonville’s Week 11 matchup with Detroit while depth linebacker Yasir Abdullah was out with a hamstring injury. Pittman made one special teams tackle against his former squad.

In 55 games and two starts with the Lions, including the postseason, Pittman recorded 28 total tackles, one defended pass and one forced fumble.

Jacksonville had yet to announce a corresponding move for its practice squad at press time.

Lions are bringing back LB Anthony Pittman

Pittman played in Detroit from 2019-2023 and has been on the Jaguars practice squad

In desperate need of healthy bodies to fill out an injury-ravaged defense, the Detroit Lions are turning to an old friend. The Lions are signing veteran linebacker Anthony Pittman to the active roster, poaching Pittman from the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad.

Pittman spent the first four years of his NFL career in Detroit, beginning in 2019 through 2023, with him taking off the COVID-19 year of 2020. A local product from D-II Wayne State, Pittman earned his spot as a special teams ace who played sparingly on defense in his time with the Lions.

The 28-year-old has played only on special teams as a practice squad elevation during his time in Jacksonville. That could be his role in his return to Detroit, where five of the top six linebackers on the Lions roster are currently injured entering Week 16.

The move has not been officially made yet, though numerous reports have confirmed Pittman’s rejoining Detroit. The Lions have several players heading to injured reserve, including DT Alim McNeill and CB Khalil Dorsey, who are each out for the season.

Jaguars make practice squad swap before London trip

Jaguars make practice squad swap before London trip

The Jaguars make a pair of practice squad moves before their trip to London for Weeks 6-7, signing linebacker Anthony Pittman and releasing safety Andre Chachere from the unit on Monday.

Pittman joins the Jaguars after spending the first five seasons of his NFL career with Detroit, where he signed as an undrafted free agent in 2019. He spent this offseason with Washington but was released in August.

Over 52 games and two starts with the Lions, Pittman recorded 12 total tackles, three quarterback hits, one defended pass and one forced fumble. He logged 1,117 special teams snaps with Detroit.

Jacksonville brought Chachere onto their practice squad on Sept. 12 after placing starting cornerback Tyson Campbell on injured reserve and signing cornerback Tre Flowers to their active roster.

Campbell is eligible for activation from the injured reserve after missing the last four weeks as required by the NFL. Jacksonville has yet to open his 21-day practice window.

Candidates for the Lions to cut to make room for players returning from injuries

When CJGJ, Alim McNeill, James Houston and others (potentially) return, the Lions will have to make some cuts to free up roster space and these players are the most vulnerable.

There are a few players who are poised to come back to the Detroit Lions in the coming couple of weeks after missing time with injuries.

It will be a real boost for the Lions to potentially get back players like Alim McNeill, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Jason Cabinda and James Houston. The process already started with the activation of rookie QB Hendon Hooker from the non-football injury list on Tuesday.

With the returns, it means some players currently on the active 53-man roster will need to be cut to make room. Kicker Riley Patterson was the first victim, as he was waived for Hooker to get activated. Michael Badgley is the new kicker, though he remains (for now) on the practice squad. That’s another roster spot that will eventually need to be freed up, too.

Who are the unfortunate likely candidates to be waived when guys like McNeill and Gardner-Johnson return? Remember–all players are subject to waivers from now through the end of the season, so there has to be some strategy involved here.

Snap count notes from the Lions win over the Broncos

Lions snap count notes from the win over Denver, including DB and RB splits and an intact offensive line

One of the first things that jumps out from the Detroit Lions’ snap count notes in the Week 15 win over the Denver Broncos is the continuity of the starters. It’s especially true on offense.

The entire starting offensive line played each and every one of the 66 offensive snaps. It was the first time since the Week 10 win over the Chargers that the team’s top five — Taylor Decker, Jonah Jackson, Frank Ragnow, Graham Glasgow, Penei Sewell — started and finished a game together. And it showed on the field, with the Lions rolling to almost 200 rushing yards.

Those rushes came from David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs in an almost even split of snaps. Montgomery played 34, while Gibbs got 32. No other RBs played. The Lions also did not use a fullback, though Dan Skipper played eight snaps as an extra tackle and blocking tight end James Mitchell was on the field for six. Mitchell still doesn’t have a single passing game target in his second season.

The wide receiver splits:

Amon-Ra St. Brown – 61

Jameson Williams – 45

Josh Reynolds – 38

Kalif Raymond – 20

Donovan Peoples-Jones – 11

On defense, LB Alex Anzalone was the only Lions player on the field for all 64 defensive reps.

The starting lineup changes in the secondary were definitive. Safety Ifeatu Melifonwu got the nod over Tracy Walker for the second straight game, and Melifonwu played 62 of the 64 snaps. Walker didn’t play on defense. The same was true at cornerback, where Khalil Dorsey replaced Jerry Jacobs. Dorsey (44 snaps) and Kindle Vildor (18) split the outside CB duties, while Jacobs only appeared on special teams.

Aidan Hutchinson’s heavy workload continues. The standout DE played 59 of the 64 snaps, another week over 90 percent participation. Some of that could be a function of the Lions deploying John Cominsky (46) and Josh Paschal (43) with more reps inside as part of a lighter front. Hefty DTs Benito Jones (30), Isaiah Buggs (23), Levi Onwuzurike (14) and rookie Brodric Martin (11) split more reps than usual with the lighter linemen.

Romeo Okwara (18) and Bruce Irvin (11) saw limited action. The Lions used rookie LB Jack Campbell in the SAM role a little amongst his 33 snaps. Derrick Barnes briefly left the game with a shoulder injury, and that held down his snap count to 35. Jalen Reeves-Maybin played 10, while Malcolm Rodriguez returned to the defensive lineup with five. Anthony Pittman played on defense for the first time in 2023, seeing action on four snaps.

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Predicting the 22 remaining Detroit Lions roster cutdowns

The Detroit Lions have 75 players on the active roster as of noon Monday and have to be down to 53 by 4 p.m. Tuesday

It’s almost time for the Detroit Lions initial 53-man roster to be set for the 2023 regular season. The team has already trimmed several players from the 90-man preseason limit, but there are more cutdowns to be made.

As of 12 p.m. ET on Monday, the Lions have 75 players still on the active roster. That leaves 22 more players to be removed from the active roster before 4 p.m. on Tuesday.

Note that CB Emmanuel Moseley and QB Hendon Hooker are not currently on the active roster, so they don’t factor in. WR Jameson Williams begins serving his suspension after the cutdowns, so he’s not involved either. 

Lions vs. Jaguars: Detroit roster bubble players to watch in the preseason matchup

With the starters sitting for Detroit, it’s a big chance for these Lions on the roster bubble to prove they belong on the team

The second preseason game for the 2023 Detroit Lions will go a long way in determining which players wind up comprising the back half of the team’s 53-man roster. With head coach Dan Campbell indicating that pretty much every important Lions player will sit out Saturday’s matchup with the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars, it’s showtime for the depth.

Position battles will dominate the conversation for the Lions against the Jaguars. Here are a few combatants who can help sort things out with their play against the visiting cats from Jacksonville.

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Lions vs Giants: Best and worst PFF grades from Detroit’s preseason win

Here are the standout performances from this week’s best and worst PFF performers for the Detroit Lions against the New York Giants.

The Detroit Lions kicked off their season with a 21-16 victory over the New York Giants in their first preseason game. Despite many of the team’s key players sitting out, the Lions’ management was able to evaluate potential roster candidates.

The game started off slowly, with the offense struggling, but the defense saved the day by repeatedly stepping up to the challenge and shutting down their opponents. Although some areas showed promise, others may require further evaluation by the Lions’ management.

Here are the standout performances from this week’s best and worst Pro Footbal Focus (PFF) performers, highlighting those who impressed and those who fell short in their bid for a coveted roster spot.

The Lions bring back 5 exclusive rights free agents including TE Brock Wright

The Lions bring back 5 exclusive rights free agents including TE Brock Wright

The Detroit Lions announced they have made the required contract tender offers to five exclusive rights free agents, including starting TE Brock Wright.

The quintet includes Wright, fellow TE Shane Zylstra, long snapper Scott Daly, DT Benito Jones and LB Anthony Pittman.

The move is more procedural than anything. Exclusive rights free agents, or ERFAs, are a cut-and-dry situation. If the team wants to keep them, they offer a 1-year deal worth the league minimum. If no such tender offer is made, the player becomes an unrestricted free agent.

The Lions had two other ERFAs, OG Tommy Kraemer and RB Craig Reynolds. Detroit re-signed Reynolds separately, which leaves Kraemer, who missed the 2022 season with a back injury.

One potential free agent for every position on the Lions offense

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