Tag: Detroit Lions roster moves

Lions waive veteran cornerback with injury status

Lions waive veteran cornerback Craig James with injury status as OTAs near their end

The Lions made a roster move in advance of Tuesday’s OTA session in Allen Park. Detroit waived veteran cornerback Craig James with an injury designation.

James, 28, signed to the Lions practice squad last December after being released by the New York Jets. He played in two games for New York in 2023 but didn’t see a lot of action with the Jets. The Lions signed James to a future/reserve contract this offseason. He had been wearing No. 25.

James has been in the NFL since 2018, bouncing around several teams. His exact injury is not known, though James was not present for last week’s minicamp session that was open to the media.

Lions release CB Cameron Sutton after domestic violence charge

The Lions have released CB Cam Sutton as he remains at large from authorities in Florida

Cameron Sutton is no longer a member of the Detroit Lions. The team announced they have released the cornerback in the wake of troubling developments coming out of Florida.

Sutton remains wanted by Florida authorities on a domestic assault strangulation charge stemming from a March 7 incident.

Lions elevate 2 from practice squad but Zach Ertz isn’t one of them

Lions elevate 2 from practice squad for the NFC Championship game but Zach Ertz isn’t one of them

The Detroit Lions elevated two players up from the practice squad to the active roster for Sunday’s playoff matchup with the 49ers. However, former Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz is not one of them.

Ertz was signed during the week to the practice squad after the Lions lost TE Brock Wright to injury. However, Ertz wasn’t able to convince the coaching staff that he’s ready for playoff action. He’s been sidelined since October with a leg injury that led to his departure from the Cardinals.

The Lions elevated FB Jason Cabinda and OL Michael Schofield. Cabinda played last week in the win over Tampa Bay. Schofield provides depth with LG Jonah Jackson ruled out with a knee injury.

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

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

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 re-sign Julian Okwara amongst practice squad moves

Okwara was waived when the Lions activated James Houston and comes back after going unclaimed on waivers

Julian Okwara never left Detroit after being waived on Thursday when the team activated James Houston to take his spot on the active roster. Okwara went unclaimed on the waiver wire, and now he’s back with the Lions.

The team re-signed Okwara to the practice squad on Saturday, a day ahead of the postseason matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Detroit also promoted two players from the practice squad to the active roster for Sunday afternoon’s game.

For the second week in a row, DT Tyson Alualu and FB Jason Cabinda have been elevated for the game. Both played in the win over the Rams as practice squad elevations.

There is no limit on elevations in the postseason.

Detroit didn’t announce any game status changes from Friday’s injury report, which is a positive development for TE Sam LaPorta and his questionable knee.

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.

Lions activate Alim McNeill, C.J. Gardner-Johnson from I.R.

Lions activate Alim McNeill, C.J. Gardner-Johnson from I.R. for Week 18

The big man in the middle of the Detroit defensive line is back, and so is the instigator in the secondary.. Tackle Alim McNeill and Safety C.J Gardner-Johnson have been activated by the Lions in advance of the Week 18 regular season finale against the Minnesota Vikings.

McNeill had been on injured reserve for the minimum four weeks after suffering a knee injury. Head coach Dan Campbell noted that he expected McNeill to return this week, and the coach proved a man of his word.

The same is true with Gardner-Johnson, who has been out since Week 2. The verbose veteran is expected to have a part-time role in his return.

The Lions had two open roster spots from previous transactions, including waiving DT Isaiah Buggs and TE Anthony Firkser.

Detroit also elevated DT Tyson Alualu and FB Jason Cabinda from the practice squad for Sunday’s game against Minnesota. In addition, Firkser re-signed to the practice squad.

Lions waive TE Anthony Firkser, bring back DE to the practice squad

Lions waive TE Anthony Firkser, bring back DE to the practice squad

The Detroit Lions made another roster move on Thursday that indicates the team is ready to activate players from the injured reserve list. Alas, the Lions still haven’t officially activated anyone just yet.

Tight end Anthony Firkser was waived on Thursday. Firsker played just two offensive snaps in the last two games after being signed from the practice squad to replace injured Brock Wright. The veteran Firkser did play extensively on special teams.

Wright remains sidelined with a hip injury, but waiving Firsker is a sign that the Lions aren’t too concerned about not having their backup tight end for the Week 18 matchup with the Minnesota Vikings.

After also waiving Isaiah Buggs earlier in the week, the Lions now have two openings on the 53-man roster. Based on what head coach Dan Campbell indicated this week, those spots will be filled by DT Alim McNeill and DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson. They’re both eligible to be activated from the I.R. and have practiced this week.

The Lions did bring a defensive player back to the practice squad, too. EDGE Raymond Johnson is back after being released from the Lions’ practice squad earlier in the fall.