Detroit Lions Rumors & News - Pro Football Rumors

The Lions auditioned a host of free agents including cornerback David Amerson last week, according to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer (Twitter links).

Amerson inked a one-year deal with the Chiefs after being cut by the Raiders, but he essentially played himself out of a roster spot on a club that needed all the help it could get in the secondary. The 26-year-old defensive back made 42 starts with Washington and Oakland from 2014-16, but injuries and ineffectiveness have limited his production since that time.

Detroit currently has five cornerbacks on its roster in Darius Slay, Nevin Lawson, Teez Tabor, Jamal Agnew, and Dee Virgin, while safety Quandre Diggs also moonlights as a slot corner. Amerson could give the Lions more depth in the back end, but he hasn’t historically contributed on special teams, a problem for a reserve player.

Here’s the full list of players Detroit worked out, per Balzer:

Lions Work Out Paxton Lynch

September 7th, 2018 at 4:57pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Paxton Lynch‘s post-Broncos tour continued as he visited today with the Lions, a source told Field Yates of ESPN (Twitter link).

Lynch, a former first round pick, quickly fell out of favor in Denver and ultimately found himself out of a job when he was outplayed by 2017 seventh-rounder Chad Kelly during the preseason. Many teams still see something interesting in Lynch’s potential, and several clubs have been rumored to be interested.

Detroit would be an interesting landing spot for Lynch, as they cut their younger developmental option Jake Rudock recently at final cuts. Although they brought Ruddock back on the practice squad, they currently only have the aging Matt Cassel behind Matthew Stafford on the roster.

Lynch could slide in behind Cassel and be developed to be Stafford’s backup of the future. Lynch recently visited the Bills and has a few other tryouts scheduled, but it wouldn’t be a surprise for him to sign with the Lions. Either way, he shouldn’t be unemployed much longer.

Lions Had No Released Players Claimed Or Signed

September 6th, 2018 at 7:52pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Lions didn’t have a single player they cut over the weekend land on another roster via a waiver claim or a free agent signing, as Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press notes. While that could indicate Detroit made all the correct decisions on Saturday/Sunday, it could also mean the Lions have a weakness at the back of their roster. With that in mind, the Lions and general manager Bob Quinn could make adding depth a priority over the next few weeks.

Browns Claim Anthony Zettel Off Waivers

September 6th, 2018 at 3:35pm CST by Sam Robinson

Anthony Zettel did not make it far on the waiver wire. The team with the top priority submitted a successful claim and will bring him aboard.

The Browns claimed Zettel off waivers after the Lions cut him, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). One of Cleveland’s Sunday waiver claims, offensive lineman Aaron Neary, will be cut because of the Zettel add.

This will continue shuffling for a Browns defensive end corps. Cleveland cut former second-round pick Nate Orchard, as seen on Hard Knocks, and then dropped 2016 third-rounder Carl Nassib following a successful Sunday waiver claim. The Browns will now have two waiver claims — Ifeadi Odenigbo and Zettel — stationed as backup defensive ends heading into Week 1.

Zettel started 16 games for the Lions last season, registering 6.5 sacks. Only Myles Garrett, with seven, recorded more than that for the 2017 Browns. Cleveland now has six defensive ends on its roster, with fellow newcomers Chris Smith (a UFA addition) and Chad Thomas (a third-round pick) stationed behind Garrett and Emmanuel Ogbah.

NFL Workout Updates: 9/5/18

September 5th, 2018 at 8:32pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter unless otherwise noted:

Carolina Panthers

QB Connor Cook (per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)

Cleveland Browns

WRs Roger Lewis, Isaac Whitney; OTs Anthony Coyle, Antonio Garcia, Brad Seaton, Jylan Ware; G Sean Harlow; DTs A.J. Francis, Lance McDowell; LBs Jonathan Celestin, Kennan Gilchrist, Emmanuel Smith; CBs Makinton Dorleant, Henre’ Toliver; K Greg Joseph (link)

Detroit Lions

RB Larry Rose; CBs Johnathan Alston, Leonard Johnson, Jeff Richards, Duke Thomas (link)

Houston Texans

QB Garrett Gilbert; WRs Malachi Dupre, Malik Turner, DeAngelo Yancey; OTs Aaron Evans, Justin Evans, Taylor Hart; David Steinmetz (link)

Indianapolis Colts

LB Obum Gwacham

Jacksonville Jaguars

FBs Dimitri Flowers, Jay Prosch; TE Ryan O’Malley; LBs Zaire Anderson, Tre’von Johnson, Corey Nelson (link)

Tennessee Titans

QB Nick Stevens; WRs Devin Fuller, Francis Owusu (link)

Minnesota Vikings

CB Christian Campbell (link)

Philadelphia Eagles

WRs Reggie Davis, Dorren Miller; S Andrew Adams (link)

Lions Waive Zettel, Claim Okwara

September 5th, 2018 at 4:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

Anthony Zettel started 16 games for the Lions last season but is headed to the waiver wire. The Lions jettisoned the third-year defensive lineman to make a successful waiver claim for Romeo Okwara, whom the Giants recently cut, per Field Yates of ESPN (on Twitter).

Zettel was listed as a backup defensive end on Detroit’s Week 1 depth chart, and given his experience, he might be intriguing as a waiver add for another team by Thursday.

A defensive end out of Notre Dame, Okwara started four Giants games as a rookie. At 23, he’s three years younger than Zettel despite both being third-year players. Okwara was a 2016 UDFA, while Zettel went off the board in the sixth round.

Pro Football Focus graded Zettel as a top-50 edge defender last season and viewed the Penn State product as one of the position’s better run defenders. He registered 6.5 sacks in his second year.

Okwara played in six games for the 2017 Giants. He has one career sack, recorded as a rookie, and 24 total stops.