Tag: Saivion Smith

Lions add Devine Ozigbo to practice squad on busy Monday for ex-Lions looking for work

Lions add Devine Ozigbo to practice squad on a busy Monday for ex-Lions looking for work

Devine Ozigbo is back on the Detroit Lions practice squad after a brief bout of unemployment. The Lions signed the veteran running back onto the practice squad on Monday after releasing him late last week in the move to sign linebacker Trevor Nowaske to the active roster.

It was a busy Monday on the NFL transaction wire for a lot of former Lions around the league. Specifically, the weekly tryout circuit featured several players who have spent some time in Detroit, including a wave of offensive linemen who played for the Lions this past preseason.

OT Ryan Swoboda – Atlanta Falcons

OT Bobby Hart – San Francisco 49ers

DB Saivion Smith – Tennessee Titans

K John Parker Romo – Titans

K Austin Seibert – Titans

None of the former Lions were signed as of Tuesday morning.

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Jerry Jacobs hints at a jersey number change

We might not see No. 39 anymore, but Jacobs isn’t going anywhere

For the last couple of seasons, No. 39 has been a mainstay in the Detroit Lions secondary. Jerry Jacobs quickly rose from undrafted rookie to starting outside cornerback, and he’s projected to start in Week 1 against Kansas City.

He might not be wearing the same jersey number, however.

Jacobs posted to X (formerly Twitter) a copy of a text that appears to indicate he got the okay from the Lions to change his jersey from 39 to 23.

The No. 23 jersey belonged to fellow DB Saivion Smith, but Smith was waived with an injury. With the 23 up for grabs, Jacobs pounced on it like a hungry lion.

Lions waive DB Saivion Smith with an injury settlement

Smith was injured in the Lions’ preseason loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars

With the roster cutdown deadline approaching in a few short days, the Detroit Lions started the process of getting down to 53 players by waiving defensive back Saivion Smith.

Smith was waived with an injury designation. The versatile DB suffered an injury in the preseason matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars and had not been seen in the team’s practices since Saturday’s game.

Smith was attempting to come back from a scary neck injury suffered last year, and had done a good job of acclimating into a more flexible cornerback/safety role. He had a legit chance to make the final roster before suffering the injury.

Because he was waived with injured status, Smith will revert to the Lions’ injured reserve if he goes unclaimed on waivers.

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Updated Lions 53-man roster projection after two weeks of training camp

Updated Detroit Lions 53-man roster projection after two weeks of training camp

Detroit Lions training camp will wrap the second week of action on Saturday. It’s a good point to recalibrate the depth chart and reevaluate the 53-man roster projection.

There are a few changes to the prediction after 10 days of practice. Injuries have caused some unfortunate shifts, as have on-field performances — positive and negative. There are some leanings here that reflect what I’ve seen and heard in training camp, too.

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Lions list 3 players in the secondary as DB instead of CB or S

The Lions didn’t designate a position for C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Brian Branch or Saivion Smith

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One of the nice things about getting into OTAs and having practice sessions is that the Detroit Lions provide us with an official roster. It was at this point last year that the team made the position changes in the secondary official, with Will Harris transitioning to cornerback and Ifeatu Melifonwu moving to safety.

Those 2022 position changes remain into 2023. There was an interesting wrinkle with the defensive back listings, however. Three players are designated as “DB,” meaning they’re not considered a safety or a corner exclusively.

It’s a designation that makes perfect sense for prized free agent C.J. Garnder-Johnson, who has played all over the secondary in his prior NFL stops. Second-round rookie Brian Branch also earns the DB designation. Branch played outside CB and box safety at Alabama, and the expectation is No. 32 will align wherever the Lions need him in trying to find his best fit.

The third DB is Saivion Smith, who played outside cornerback for Detroit in 2022. Smith is aiming to return from a serious neck injury suffered early last season. At 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, he will get looks at safety as well as outside CB.

The Lions are bringing back CB Saivion Smith after his scary neck injury

Smith left last season’s loss to the Patriots in an ambulance with a scary neck injury

After one of the scariest injury situations in the NFL in years, it sure appeared as if Saivion Smith’s career would be over. The Lions cornerback suffered a severe neck injury in the team’s Week 5 loss to the New England Patriots last October, leaving the field in an ambulance.

Smith became a free agent after the season ended with him on injured reserve. However, Smith will once again try to play in the NFL and he’ll do so in Detroit.

Per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, the Lions are signing Smith to a new contract. The 25-year-old had surgery to repair a disc issue in his neck and has been cleared to return to football.

If he’s able to regain his form, Smith brings experienced depth to the CB corps. He was one of the team’s top players in training camp and preseason last summer and earned his start vs. New England.

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8 Lions who ended 2022 on the practice squad are now free agents

8 Lions who ended 2022 on the practice squad are now free agents after their contracts expired and did not sign reserve/future deals with the team

Monday marked the day when players who finished the 2022 regular season on the practice squad saw their contracts with teams expire. The Detroit Lions had eight members of the practice squad expire and not sign to a reserve/future contract.

Those eight players are now free agents who can sign reserve/future contracts with any other team or a practice squad deal with one of the eight teams still alive in the postseason.

The eight expired contracts:

PK Sam Ficken

TE Garrett Griffin

QB Steven Montez

CB A.J. Parker

CB Saivion Smith

LB Julian Stanford

OT Jarrid Williams

WR Brandon Zylstra

The Lions have 11 players signed to reserve/future contracts. All of those players were with the Lions practice squad or injured reserve at the end of the season.

For the players not signed to reserve/future contracts, it’s a pretty good sign their time with the Lions is over.

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Lions move CB Saivion Smith to practice squad IR, sign WR Stanley Berryhill

Lions move CB Saivion Smith to practice squad IR, sign WR Stanley Berryhill to the practice squad

After his scary injury suffered in Week 5 in New England, Lions cornerback Saivion Smith has made an impressive recovery. Smith suffered a concussion that left him motionless on the turf for several minutes and left the field in an ambulance.

Lions head coach Dan Campbell offered an encouraging update on Smith prior to Wednesday’s practice.

“Yeah, he’s doing good. Alright, he’s doing good,” Campbell said of Smith. “However, we’re getting some things looked at with him. Actually, we’re sending him to the doctor tomorrow, but we don’t see residual head effects, things of that nature. He’s clear. He’s in good spirits other than being frustrated that he’s not going to be able to play, so from that regard, he’s good. He has his feeling, all that stuff, but there’s some other things we’re looking at with him.”

To that end, the Lions placed Smith on the practice squad injured reserve list. Smith was playing in the Patriots game as a gameday elevation from the practice squad.

Detroit replaced Smith on the practice squad with wide receiver Stanley Berryhill. The new wideout comes from the Arizona Cardinals, where he was a rookie from Arizona on that team’s practice squad. He also had time this offseason with the Atlanta Falcons. Berryhill caught 83 passes for the Wildcats in 2021, 50 more than any other Arizona teammate. He’s a 5-9, 181-pound slot receiver who also has return man experience.

Detroit also worked out WR Antonio Nunn but did not sign him.

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Saivion Smith out of the hospital, posts positive message on Twitter

Smith offered a positive update on his prognosis after his scary injury in New England

Detroit Lions cornerback Saivion Smith appears to have avoided a major injury after a scary scene in Detroit’s Week 5 loss to the New England Patriots. Smith left the game on the first possession after suffering a neck injury that required him to be taken from the playing field in an ambulance.

“He’s got full motor skills,” head coach Dan Campbell said after the game. “So we’re going to try to get him back on the plane so he can come home. That’s good news.”

Smith was indeed discharged from the hospital, though it’s unclear if he traveled home with the team. He did offer a positive message on Twitter to Patriots LB and former Alabama teammate Mack Wilson on Sunday night,

Lions CB Saivion Smith leaves the field in an ambulance

Lions CB Saivion Smith leaves the field in an ambulance

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Detroit Lions cornerback Saivion Smith suffered a serious injury on the first defensive possession in the team’s Week 5 matchup in New England.

Smith was injured while trying to jam Patriots TE Hunter Henry. He flopped awkwardly to the side and was motionless on the ground after the initial action. Smith was quickly placed on a stabilizing backboard and an ambulance sped onto the field to tend to the injured Lion. Smith’s father came from the stands to ride in the ambulance with his injured son.

Smith was a surprise starter for the Lions. Making his first appearance of the season, Smith was elevated from the practice squad on Saturday and got the starting nod over Amani Oruwariye, who was a healthy scratch.

Stay tuned for updates on Smith and hope for the best for No. 19.

Update: Shortly before halftime, FOX Sports sideline reporter Shannon Spake noted that Smith is still being evaluated for a neck injury and does have movement in his extremities.