Tag: Isaiah Thomas

Lions add two familiar names to practice squad

Lions add two familiar names to practice squad

The Lions signed two players to their practice squad Tuesday. One was defensive end Isaiah Thomas, which the team announced. The other is wide receiver Maurice Alexander, as reported by Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston.

Thomas has appeared in two games this season for the Lions, against the Packers and the Titans. He had three tackles and a fumble recovery in Detroit’s 52-14 blowout win over the Titans. He was waived by the Lions on November 9 but is now back with the team on their practice squad.

Alexander has spent most of the last two seasons on Detroit’s practice squad. He did appear in four games on special teams duty as a returner in 2022. Before joining the Lions in 2022, he was a kick returner for the Philadelphia Stars in the USFL. He played quarterback, wide receiver and return man during his college days at Florida International.

Lions make transactions involving 7 players ahead of Week 10

Lions make transactions involving 7 players ahead of Week 10, including placing Jalen Reeves-Maybin on IR and signing 3 from practice squad

It was a very busy Saturday for the Lions ahead of their trip to Houston to play the Texans in Week 10. Detroit made roster moves involving seven players.

The Lions waived EDGE Isaiah Thomas at the first possible opportunity. Thomas was signed off the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad after Week 6, meaning the Lions had to keep him on the active roster for at least three weeks. That time expired ahead of Week 10, and Thomas’ meager contributions (3 tackles, zero QB hurries) made him expendable.

Detroit also placed linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin on injured reserve. Reeves-Maybin suffered a neck injury suffered in the Week 9 win in Green Bay. He will miss at least the next four games, including Sunday.

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To fill those roster vacancies, the Lions signed three players from the practice squad to the active roster:

TE Shane Zylstra
EDGE Al-Quadin Muhammad
LB Abraham Beauplan

Zylstra was out of practice squad elevations, so his signing was expected after the team waived rookie WR Isaiah Williams during the week. Williams has since been claimed by the Cincinnati Bengals.

In this week’s practice squad elevations, offensive tackle Jamarco Jones and linebacker Ezekiel Turner were promoted to play against Houston. It is the first elevation for each player in 2024.

Snap count notes: Sorting the Lions defensive line mix against the Titans

Snap count notes: Sorting the Lions defensive line mix against the Titans to cover for all the injuries at EDGE

Dan Campbell and Aaron Glenn had to do a lot of patchwork along the defensive front in the Detroit Lions’ Week 8 win over the Tennessee Titans. Thanks to recent injuries to the top three pass rushers on the roster (Marcus Davenport, Derrick Barnes, Aidan Hutchinson in order of injury) and top replacement starter Josh Paschal being inactive due to illness, the roster scramble was real.

The Lions started the game with Levi Onwuzurike and practice squad elevation Al-Quadin Muhammad as the starting EDGE players, going heavy on the front. Muhammad wound up playing the most snaps of any defensive lineman with 49, edging past DT Alim McNeill (45) and Onwuzurike (44). Starting nose tackle DJ Reader saw 39 reps.

Newcomer Isaiah Thomas made his Lions debut with 38 snaps. Rookie Mekhi Wingo, like Onwuzurike, played both inside and outside during his 30 reps. The same was true for Pat O’Connor in his 31 reps, though Wingo was outside a little more frequently than No. 95. James Houston played 19 snaps, with 13 from the right side and six on the left per Pro Football Focus tracking.

The disparity between the offensive and defensive snap counts was stark, with Detroit only running 48 offensive plays and the Titans offense on the field for 76. Fantastic special teams by the Lions and four Tennessee turnovers played a huge role in the lack of need for Detroit’s offense to play a lot of snaps en route to 52 points.

Quick notes:

–Jalen Reeves-Maybin was injured Malcolm Rodriguez’s primary replacement, with 14 snaps. Ben Niemann played seven in that LB role.

–The Lions pulled as many starters as they could for the final six offensive snaps, including Hendon Hooker coming in for Jared Goff at QB.

–Practice squad elevation TE Shane Zylstra played 13 snaps, a big uptick from the three he played in Week 7.

–Rookie RB Sione Vaki played one snap on offense.

–Safety Kerby Joseph was the only defensive player to stay on the field for every snap.

New Lions DE Isaiah Thomas shows up for Week 8 in perfect style

New Lions DE Isaiah Thomas shows up for Week 8 in perfect style, rocking the jersey of Pistons legend Isiah Thomas

Isaiah Thomas is making his Detroit debut today. The Lions defensive end, signed off the Bengals practice squad before Week 7, figures to see considerable playing time in the matchup against the visiting Tennesee Titans.

In a nod to his new city, Thomas played homage to a Detroit legend. Isaiah Thomas the Lions EDGE showed up to Ford Field in the jersey of Isiah Thomas, the legendary Detroit Pistons star.

Thomas won’t wear “Zeke’s” legendary No. 11 for the Lions, however. That belongs to wideout Kalif Raymond, who is also going to get a bigger role in the Week 8 game. The Lions’ Isaiah Thomas will wear No. 35 on defense.

 

Josh Paschal’s illness put the Lions in a pass rushing bind vs Titans

Starting DE Josh Paschal’s illness put the Lions in a pass rushing bind vs Titans, but head coach Dan Campbell has a plan

Just when it seemed like some much-needed stability and good fortune was coming to the Detroit Lions defensive line, more adversity struck. Starting DE Josh Paschal, who bagged the first of Detroit’s four sacks of Sam Darnold in Week 7, is suffering from an illness that has kept him out of practice all week.

Based on Dan Campbell’s press conference before Friday’s session, don’t expect Paschal to suit up for Sunday’s visit from the Tennessee Titans.

“Paschal’s dealing with something right now.,” Campbell said. “He’ll be OK long term, but he’s got a little bit of something. So, I don’t see him practicing today.”

Paschal jumped into a starting role only after Marcus Davenport and then Aidan Hutchinson went down with serious injuries in wins over Seattle (Week 4) and Dallas (Week 6). Playing as the “next man up”, Paschal represented a real dropoff in pressure creation and attacking versatility from the Week 1 starters.

The new next man up is freshly acquired Isaiah Thomas. The Lions signed him to the active roster last week after losing Hutchinson to a broken leg. Thomas had been on the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad after failing to make the Cleveland Browns following the preseason.

“Yes, we will use Isaiah. He’s done enough during the week to want to get him out there and get him some reps. He’s in a good place and we’re excited to see him play.”

The Lions won’t rely just on Thomas, however. Campbell cited pretty much every defensive lineman on the roster, including practice squad member Al-Quadin Muhammad, as guys who will have to pick up the slack for the wounded pass rush.

“Yeah, that’s why those three guys have to step up between Isaiah (Thomas) and Muhammad and (James) Houston. They have to help, they have to help and that’s where it goes but as always, we spread the load across that D-line with Levi (Onwuzurike) and (Alim McNeill) Mac and (DJ) Reader and (Mekhi) Wingo and (Pat) O’Connor, so we have plenty in there and they pick up the slack.”

If you’re looking for an omission there, it would be Isaac Ukwu. The undrafted rookie started the last two games in Davenport’s spot as a practice squad elevation. Despite showing some vitality late in the win over Dallas, Ukwu struggled against Minnesota’s strong offensive line.

Lions officially place 2 on I.R., sign Isaiah Thomas

Lions officially place Aidan Hutchinson and Kyle Peko on I.R., sign Isaiah Thomas

It’s now official: the Detroit Lions have placed Aidan Hutchinson on the injured reserve list.

The Lions announced the move on Tuesday, two days after the standout EDGE broke his left legbroke his left leg in a blowout win over the Dallas Cowboys.

Detroit also placed DT Kyle Peko on I.R. Peko tore a pectoral muscle. Peko tore a pectoral muscle in Dallas and is out indefinitely. While neither player is expected to return in 2024, being placed on the reserve list means Hutchinson and Peko are each out a minimum of four games.

With one of the open spots on the 53-man roster, the Lions signed EDGE Isaiah ThomasLions signed EDGE Isaiah Thomas. The newest member of the Lions den comes to Detroit from the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad. Because he was signed from the practice squad of another team, Thomas must remain on Detroit’s active roster for at least three games.

Bengals lose yet another practice squad player, this time to Lions

The Bengals just lost a player to the Detroit Lions.

The Cincinnati Bengals just keep losing pass-rushers off the practice squad this month.

Tuesday was the latest example, with the Detroit Lions claiming defensive end Isaiah Thomas off the Bengals’ practice squad to help ease the loss of injured superstar Aidan Hutchinson, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

The Bengals had originally claimed Thomas, a seventh-rounder in 2022 by the Browns, at the start of September.

Earlier this month, the Bengals lost K.J. Henry off the practice squad as the Dallas Cowboys signed him to their 53-man roster on a two-year deal to help replace injured names.

Cincinnati is finally getting healthier on the edge with former first-rounder Myles Murphy off injured reserve. But the team’s depth beyond the active roster just keeps taking hits, so expect the Bengals to make another move soon.

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Lions to add pass rusher from Bengals

The Detroit Lions are signing EDGE Isaiah Thomas from the Bengals practice squad

The Detroit Lions are bringing in a new pass rushing presence to help compensate for the losses of Marcus Davenport and Aidan Hutchinson. Per a report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Lions are signing Isaiah Thomas from the Bengals.

Thomas is currently on the Bengals practice squad, but he’s been with the Cleveland Browns for the first two seasons of his NFL career. Thomas was a seventh-round pick by the Browns in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Oklahoma. He’s played in 10 career games, recording one sack and nine tackles, and spent the 2023 season on Cleveland’s practice squad.

At 6-5 and 265 pounds, Thomas fits the Lions’ desired physical profile of a defensive end.

Minimum GOATs: The best players ever on the NBA’s base salary

At any given time, roughly a third of the league is on veteran or rookie minimum contracts. By and large, these are young and unproven or older and nearly washed players, balancing on a knife’s edge for their NBA careers. Most second-round picks, …

At any given time, roughly a third of the league is on veteran or rookie minimum contracts. By and large, these are young and unproven or older and nearly washed players, balancing on a knife’s edge for their NBA careers. Most second-round picks, for example, end up signing minimum deals, and few stick in the league for too long. But every once in a while, a minimum player makes you sit up and take notice of their play.

Here are the Top 20 players to play on minimum deals. (For this exercise, we’re focusing on players on minimum contracts for full seasons).

Bengals swipe AFC North rival’s promising player in practice squad addition

The Bengals took from a rival while getting a high-upside player.

The Cincinnati Bengals swiped a division rival’s player during the waiver wire and practice squad process this past week.

There, the Bengals added defensive end Isaiah Thomas, formerly of the Cleveland Browns, to the practice squad.

Thomas, a seventh-rounder in 2022 by the Browns, appeared in 10 games as a rookie and recorded a sack over 162 snaps. At 6’5″ and 270 pounds with good length, he looks like an every-down player the coaches would like to develop.

Considering Thomas came over from the Browns, which is annually one of the league’s deepest depth charts on the edge, there’s perhaps more there for the Bengals to develop than most signings of this nature.

And for Thomas and his reps, the Bengals surely made for an interesting opportunity with former first-rounder Myles Murphy going to injured reserve and a sixth-rounder, Cedric Johnson, making the final roster as a result.

With Sam Hubbard getting up there in age (29), the recent Trey Hendrickson contract drama and Joseph Ossai on the last year of his current deal, these are the types of low-key signings that could pay off big for the team at a later date.

That it came at the expense of an in-state and division rival like the Browns is something that will move the needle with fans, too.

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