Lions To Sign Drew Butler

The Lions will bring aboard another punter for training camp, per Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com, who passes along a report from fellow ESPN reporter Adam Schefter (Twitter link). According to Schefter, the team is signing former Steelers punter Drew Butler. Safety Gabe Lynn has been cut to clear a roster spot, tweets Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.

Butler, 25, was Pittsburgh’s full-time punter in 2012, averaging 43.8 yards per kick (38.3 net) and ranking as the league’s 26th-best player at the position, according to Pro Football Focus’ metrics (subscription required). Zoltan Mesko won the Steelers’ punting job in 2013 and Butler spent some time with the Bears, but didn’t appear in any regular season games for the team. The Georgia product should get the opportunity to compete with Sam Martin for the Lions’ punting job over the next few weeks.

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