HEADLINES

Isaac Ukwu

Lions Sign C.J. Beathard To Practice Squad

September 4th, 2025 at 1:04pm CST by Adam La Rose

Once roster cuts and subsequent moves had taken place last week, the Lions had just two quarterbacks in the fold. That is no longer the case.

[RELATED: Recapping Lions’ Offseason]

C.J. Beathard signed to Detroit’s practice squad Thursday, per a team announcement. The 31-year-old represented one of the top quarterbacks left on the market this deep into the offseason and worked out with Detroit yesterday. He will give the Lions an option for gameday elevations or a promotion to the active roster in 2025.

Jared Goff will again handle starting duties this season, but Detroit has a new backup in the form of Kyle Allen. Allen drew praise for his work during training camp and the preseason, to the point where he overtook incumbent Hendon Hooker on the depth chart. In a move which came as little surprise as a result, Hooker was waived ahead of the cutdown deadline.

The 2023 third-rounder quickly found a home on the Panthers’ practice squad, meaning a stay in Detroit was not an option after he cleared waivers (not that one was expected). After a few days without a signal-caller on their taxi squad, the Lions will move forward with Beathard. The former UDFA has totaled 32 regular season appearances and 13 starts, his most recent coming with the Jaguars in 2023. If Goff or Allen suffer an injury, Beathard will be counted on to fill in.

In a corresponding move, the Lions released second-year defensive end Isaac Ukwu from their practice squad. Ukwu made two appearances for Detroit last season while the team dealt with a slew of injuries on defense. He will now look for another opportunity in time for the start of the season.

Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC North

August 27th, 2025 at 3:17pm CST by Sam Robinson

Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These Bears, Lions, Packers and Vikings moves are noted below.

Chicago Bears

Claimed:

Released:

Signed to practice squad:

Detroit Lions

Signed:

Claimed:

Signed to practice squad:

Green Bay Packers

Signed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Minnesota Vikings

Signed to practice squad:

Lions Shift Alim McNeill, Malcolm Rodriguez To Reserve/PUP List; Team Sets Initial Roster

August 26th, 2025 at 4:41pm CST by Sam Robinson

In stashing two injured starters on the reserve/PUP list, the Lions also made a host of cuts to move down to 53. Here are the moves the two-time reigning NFC North champions made at today’s cutdown deadline:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

Waived (injury settlement):

Placed on reserve/PUP list:

Placed on reserve/NFI list:

McNeill is believed to be ahead of schedule, but the standout interior D-lineman will still be stashed on the PUP list — requiring a four-game absence. The Lions lost McNeill to an ACL tear — in their bloodbath of a season on defense — to a Week 15 ACL tear. This came weeks after the Lions and the four-year veteran hammered out an extension. McNeill, who has been pegged as most likely to return around midseason, is signed through 2028.

Rodriguez went down with an ACL tear during the Lions’ Thanksgiving win over the Bears. It was reported previously the young linebacker would be expected to miss regular-season time, and that will come to pass.

The Lions became the extraordinarily rare team to drop down to 50 players on roster-cutdown day, as opposed to the required 53. That will keep options open. The team can bring vested veterans back without the waiver process being involved, and teams occasionally wait until after the vested-veteran guarantee deadline passes in early September to re-sign vested performers to avoid fully guaranteeing salaries.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/20/25

January 20th, 2025 at 10:13pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Here are the latest reserve/futures deals from around the league:

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Rams

Pittsburgh Steelers

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/19/24

October 19th, 2024 at 6:29pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s minor moves and standard gameday practice squad callups:

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Autry was hit with a six-game PED suspension in July, leaving the Texans without a key figure along the defensive line. The free agent pickup could have suited up by means of Houston using his one-week roster exemption; instead, he has been activated in time for Week 7. Autry, 34, posted a career-high 11 sacks last season and he will look to make an immediate impact during his Texans debut. Especially with Mario Edwards having been issued a four-game suspension of his own earlier this week, he should have a notable role right away.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/12/24

October 12th, 2024 at 8:38pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s minor transactions, including practice squad callups for Week 6:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC North

August 28th, 2024 at 2:22pm CST by Sam Robinson

Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These Bears, Lions, Packers and Vikings moves are noted below.

Chicago Bears

Signed:

Claimed:

Placed on IR:

Signed to practice squad:

Detroit Lions

Signed:

Claimed:

Signed to practice squad:

Green Bay Packers

Signed:

Claimed:

Signed to practice squad:

Minnesota Vikings

Signed:

Claimed:

Signed to practice squad:

Lions Get Down To 53 Players

August 27th, 2024 at 8:57pm CST by Ely Allen

The Lions used a couple of different methods to get their active roster to 53 players:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Placed on IR (designated for return):

Placed on reserve/PUP list:

The Lions released a lot more vested veterans than we typically see at this time in the year, perhaps a sign of the young talent on the roster. Peko seemed like a sure thing to make the roster after starting 10 games for the Titans in 2023.

Detroit will dismiss a couple of young rushers in Jefferson and Knight after the two failed to develop a significant role on the roster. Fromm was easily outshined in the preseason by an electric Hendon Hooker, who will take the backup job behind Jared Goff. Fromm continues to search for his place in the NFL after nearly winning it all at the collegiate level.

Martin, like Mahogany, will be able to return after four weeks, thanks to a new NFL rule that allows each team to place two players on IR before or at the roster cut deadline and designate them to return. Cornerback Emmanuel Moseley has the other designation.

Mahogany is the only drafted rookie not to make the initial 53, but he’ll stick around in Detroit. On the other side of things, the Lions kept three undrafted rookie signees on their active roster to start the season. Most notably Hogan Hatten will come in and operate as the team’s new long snapper. Safety Loren Strickland from Ball State and wide receiver Isaiah Williams from Illinois are the other two undrafted rookies to make the initial roster.

Lions Sign 15 UDFAs

May 10th, 2024 at 8:54am CST by Adam La Rose

The Lions came away with five rookies over the course of the draft. The 2024 event’s hosts have added to that group with 15 undrafted players. Here are Detroit’s rookie free agent signings:

  • Jalon Calhoun, WR (Duke)
  • Steele Chambers, LB (Ohio State)
  • Duke Clemens, OL (UCLA)
  • Kingsley Eguakun, OL (Florida)
  • Chelen Garnes, S (Wake Forest)
  • DaRon Gilbert, LB (Northern Illinois)
  • Hogan Hatten, LS (Idaho)
  • Bryan Hudson, OL (Louisville)
  • Nate Lynn, DL (William & Mary)
  • Morice Norris Jr., CB (Fresno State)
  • Isaac Rex, TE (BYU)
  • Loren Strickland, S (Ball State)
  • James Turner, K (Michigan)
  • Isaac Ukwu, DL (Ole Miss)
  • Isaiah Williams, WR (Illinois)

Williams secured one of the largest guarantees in the league amongst undrafted rookies. The 5-9 speedster received $225K of locked in base salary in addition to a $15K signing bonus, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 reports. Williams began his college career as a quarterback, but over the past three seasons he served as a key member of the Fighting Illini’s passing attack. The 180-pounder recorded 82 catches in 2022 and ’23, totaling a career-high 1,055 yards and five touchdowns last year.

The Lions finished the 2023 campaign with Michael Badgley as their kicker, and he was re-signed earlier this offseason. The 28-year-old entered Friday as the only kicker on Detroit’s roster, but Turner will provide offseason competition. The latter spent his first four seasons at Louisville, converting 79.7% of his field goal attempts. That figure rose to 85.7% with the Wolverines in 2023, and Turner connected on all but one of his extra point kicks

Like Williams, Chambers switched positions midway through his college tenure. He started his time with the Buckeyes as a running back, though he only received 28 carries across the 2018 and ’19 seasons. The move to linebacker prompted a spike in playing time, and Chambers increased his tackle total with each passing season over the last three years. In all, the 6-1, 220-pounder racked up 208 stops, three sacks and four interceptions; he will aim to translate that production into at least a special teams opportunity in Detroit.