The Lions are back in the familiar business of scanning practice squads for help, and this time the need is sitting in the secondary.
With safety Avonte Maddox done for the year after a foot injury that will require surgery, and Kerby Joseph plus Brian Branch both on the Physically Unable to Perform list, Detroit’s depth is thin enough that Brad Holmes is once again looking at outside options. The team already added Jalen Mills to the practice squad on Monday, but that still leaves room for more maneuvering before Week 3 against the New York Jets.
Holmes has made a habit of working this lane when injuries hit. In 2024, Detroit dipped into other teams’ practice squads for bodies like Myles Adams, Kwon Alexander and Jonah Williams to stabilize the defense. Last year, the Lions also brought in Jammie Robinson from the Chiefs’ practice squad for a brief run.
There are limits on how this works, of course. Players can be signed off another team’s practice squad to an active roster, but they have to stay on that active roster, or be paid like they’re on it, for at least three weeks. And because teams can’t sign a player off the practice squad of a team they’re facing within six days of the game, the Lions won’t be able to take anyone from the Jets if they decide to make a move this week.
Still, a few names stand out.
One obvious possibility is former Lions safety Ifeatu Melifonwu, now with the Buccaneers. He was a third-round pick in Holmes’ first draft as GM, and he’s already been elevated for Tampa Bay’s first two games.
Injuries never let him settle in during his time in Detroit, where he managed just one full season and 37 total games across four years. Even so, he left behind some real moments, including the division-clinching interception against Minnesota in 2023 and the strong stretch that carried into the postseason that year.
Detroit did not make a major push to keep Melifonwu once his rookie deal ended, but he’d bring immediate scheme familiarity if the Lions wanted a veteran who already knows the system. Tampa Bay also has used two of its three possible elevations on him, so he could be available if the Buccaneers don’t see a bigger role ahead.
Another familiar face is DeShon Hallett, who spent parts of two seasons with the Lions before Tennessee claimed him at the end of last year. He didn’t make the Titans’ roster out of camp, but he has been elevated in both of their games.
Hallett also knows Detroit’s defensive setup and appeared in three games last season during Kelvin Sheppard’s first year as defensive coordinator. He was part of the team’s “Legion of Whom” effort against the Buccaneers and logged 119 defensive snaps over those three appearances.
If Detroit wants to go younger, Ty Wisniewski is the name to watch. The Eagles’ seventh-round pick didn’t make their roster out of camp, which makes him available. His college résumé is plenty strong: he started at North Dakota State, won two FCS national championships and earned First Team All-American honors in 2023 before finishing at Texas Tech, where he started every game and posted an 83.9 PFF overall defensive grade.
Wisniewski also saw the field in one preseason game for Philadelphia this year, playing 20 snaps and earning a 68.6 defensive grade against the Patriots.
In Other News...
Bears Fans Have Every Right To Be Frustrated By Gervon Dexter Decision
The Bears interior pass rush has been a sore spot early this season, and Gervon Dexter Sr. only made the decision to move on look harder to explain. Through two games, Dexter has piled up eight quarterback pressures, a sack and six hurries, production that has already topped Chicagos entire interior defensive line in pressures while he settles in with Atlanta after the trade.
Chicago sent Dexter to the Falcons for Clark Phillips and a draft pick, but the timing has invited plenty of second-guessing because the Bears are still searching for consistent push up front. The move also comes with a bigger roster-building question hanging over it, since the team chose to commit to Grady Jarrett instead of holding onto a younger lineman who was already showing signs of growth. [Read more 🡒]
Ben Johnson's Bears Explanation Will Only Frustrate Fans More
Rainy, messy games at Soldier Field have a way of stripping football down to its ugliest parts, and the Bears got a full dose of that in a 9-3 loss to the Vikings. Ben Johnson pointed to the weather as a major reason the offense never found rhythm, which is understandable on a night when execution across the board was hard to come by. Still, Chicagos problems went well beyond slick footing and a wet ball.
The Bears piled up penalties, threw an interception, allowed four sacks and had a field goal blocked, a combination that made the offensive collapse feel bigger than the conditions alone. Even with more total yards than Minnesota, they produced far less than they did a week earlier, leaving the bigger question unchanged: how much of this was the rain, and how much was a unit that simply didnt handle the moment well enough? [Read more 🡒]
Caleb Williams Just Sparked A Bears Debate He Did Not Need
Caleb Williams early-season start for the Bears has already come with the usual rookie pressure, but a minor hamstring injury in Week 2 pulled him into a side debate he probably did not need. After Williams showed some emotion over the setback, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy took aim at the quarterbacks reaction, turning a routine injury concern into a public back-and-forth that quickly spilled beyond the field.
Williams answered by reposting a tweet that called Portnoy soft, including a reference to a past incident involving a college student and Portnoy. Portnoy pushed back by denying he personally had anyone arrested, then kept mocking Williams injury and reaction, leaving the Bears quarterback caught in a noisy off-field dispute when the only thing Chicago really wants is a clean path forward on the field. [Read more 🡒]