Tyson Alualu

Lions Place TE Brock Wright On IR, Promote DL Tyson Alualu

The Lions continue to tinker with their roster ahead of the team’s Conference Championship matchup against the 49ers. Third-year tight end Brock Wright was placed on injured reserve today as he continues to deal with a hip injury, and practice squad defensive lineman Tyson Alualu has been signed to the active roster to take his place.

Wright has been dealing with his hip troubles since Week 16, when the injury forced him to miss the final three games of the regular season. With star rookie tight end Sam LaPorta dealing with his knee injury, though, Wright toughed it out through the first two weeks of the playoffs to help Detroit get to this semifinal game. As his season ends on IR, he will also be a pending free agent. He’s started 19 games for the Lions over the last three years and has proven to be an effective blocker.

The Lions’ depth at tight end continues to take hits as Wright now joins James Mitchell on IR. This leaves a banged up LaPorta and former practice squad tight end Anthony Firkser as the only two tight ends on the active roster. Reinforcements of a big nature are likely on the horizon, though, after the team’s signing of veteran tight end Zach Ertz to the practice squad this week.

Ertz only played in seven games this year before being placed on IR with a quadriceps injury in Arizona. Over a month later, the Cardinals waived Ertz after the 11-year veteran asked for his release. Ertz informed the media that he wanted to join a contender, and now he has as he joins one of the four remaining teams vying for a Lombardi Trophy. He steps into a favorable position with the Lions, as well, as the team’s lack of tight end depth will allow him to step into a big role almost immediately. Obviously, chemistry and learning the offense will be hurdles, but Ertz could provide a big boost to a limping tight ends room.

Alualu is another veteran addition to the active roster. After 13 years in Jacksonville and Pittsburgh, the 36-year-old signed with Detroit’s practice squad. Alualu had been called up twice as a standard gameday practice squad elevation in the regular season, even starting a game for the Lions, and has done the same so far in the playoffs, appearing in two games off the practice squad and starting one in the postseason.

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/20/24

With three games remaining this weekend, six teams were required to announce their roster moves today:

Buffalo Bills

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Bills and Lions move forward with the same pair of standard gameday practice squad elevations as last week. The Packers and Buccaneers, on the other hand, will give Banks and Dzansi a chance to make their NFL debuts in the Divisional Round of the playoffs.

Lions Place CB Jerry Jacobs, TE James Mitchell On IR

The Lions are the only team today with transactions that aren’t just standard gameday practice squad elevations. In addition to the normal gameday transactions, Detroit also placed starting cornerback Jerry Jacobs and backup tight end James Mitchell on injured reserve before their first home playoff game in 30 years.

Jacobs is certainly the bigger loss of the two. The third-year cornerback out of Arkansas has continued to extend his role in each year, starting 12 games on the Lions’ defense this year. In 15 games this season, Jacobs is tied for second on the team for interceptions (3) and tied for third on the team for passes defensed (8). Jacobs had started the first 12 games he had appeared in this year but was forced to take a bit of a back seat in recent weeks.

With Jacobs in a limited role the past few weeks, Kindle Vildor has been starting opposite usual starter Cameron Sutton, with big contributions coming from second-round rookie Brian Branch and Khalil Dorsey. That plan is expected to continue as Jacobs becomes officially unavailable, though Sutton and Branch are dealing with a few injury issues themselves.

Mitchell was expected to play a bigger role in the offense if starter Sam LaPorta was unable to play after last week’s injury. Luckily, LaPorta seems to have avoided disaster and currently only holds a questionable status heading into tomorrow, so there’s a good chance he will be good to go, lessening the impact of Mitchell’s absence. Brock Wright will continue performing as TE2.

After losing a cornerback and tight end to IR, the Lions promoted a cornerback and tight end from the practice squad, signing Anthony Firkser and Chase Lucas to the active roster. Firkser and Lucas will be able to provide some depth at tight end and cornerback, respectively, as injuries threaten to impact Detroit’s postseason aspirations.

Lastly, the Lions announced their standard gameday practice squad elevations for tomorrow, as well. Joining Firkser and Lucas will be defensive lineman Tyson Alualu and fullback Jason Cabinda.

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/6/24

The last week of pregame transactions and gameday callups for several teams this season:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

  • Placed on IR: T Mike McGlinchey
  • Activated from IR: T Alex Palczewski
  • Signed to active roster: CB Art Green
  • Elevated: S Devon Key

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

  • Placed on IR: TE Hunter Henry
  • Signed to active roster: TE La’Michael Pettway
  • Elevated: TE Matt SokolOL Andrew Stueber

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Several teams whose season is set to come to an end tomorrow have elected to move injured players to injured reserve in order to create roster spots for practice squad options, particularly those who have had their three gameday elevations exhausted. In the case of the Broncos, McGlinchey will see his debut campaign in the Mile High City come to a premature end. Signed to a five-year, $87.5MM deal, the 28-year-old was part of a revamped O-line which did not produce the desired rebound on offense. Manning his usual right tackle spot, McGlinchey was charged with eight sacks and 49 pressures allowed by PFF, resulting in an overall grade of 67.5.

While the Giants will have an interesting decision to make with respect to Xavier McKinney‘s future, they will have Pinnock on the books for at least one more season. The latter’s rookie contract is set to expire following the 2024 campaign, one in which he will no doubt remain a vital member of New York’s secondary. Pinnock has recorded 85 tackles, two interceptions (including a 102-yard pick-six), six pass deflections and a pair of forced fumbles while logging over 1,000 defensive snaps this season. A return to health and a continuation of his 2023 level of play will be sorely needed next fall.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/30/23

Here are today’s minor transactions and callups for the remainder of the Week 17 matchups:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Alualu is set to make his Lions debut after signing earlier this month. Given the injury issues Detroit has faced up front, the 36-year-old has the chance to see playing time through the close of the regular season and into the playoffs. Alualu expressed a desire to continue playing with the Steelers this offseason, but he remained a free agent deep into the year. His tenure in the Motor City could help boost his free agent stock if he wishes to remain in the league in 2024, though.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/5/23

Here are Tuesday’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

  • Signed: WR Davion Davis
  • Placed on practice squad injured list: WR Jared Wayne

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Lions Sign DL Tyson Alualu

Tyson Alualu is set to continue his NFL career for a 14th season. The veteran defensive lineman has agreed to a deal with the Lions, his agency announced on Tuesday.

The 36-year-old had spent the past six seasons in Pittsburgh, and he expressed a desire to continue his time with the Steelers this offseason. Instead, he will now head to the Motor City in a bid to carve out a rotational role on the Lions’ defensive front. Justin Rogers of the Detroit News notes Alualu will start on the team’s practice squad, as has become standard practice around the league for midseason additions.

This marks another late-season addition to Detroit’s defense, with Alualu following Bruce Irvin — who is also in his age-36 season — in signing with the NFC North leaders’ practice squad. Irvin made his debut with the Lions in Week 13. While Irvin had made a habit of in-season signings during the 2020s, this is new territory for Alualu. The veteran interior D-lineman played 17 games as a rotational player in Pittsburgh last season.

Over the course of his career, Alualu has played in 191 games and started 111. Although Alualu spent six seasons working alongside Cameron Heyward up front with the Steelers, he was a regular starter with the Jaguars from 2010-16. Pro Football Focus graded Alualu poorly last season but viewed him as one of the NFL’s top D-linemen as recently as 2020. Alualu suffered a season-ending injury during Week 2 of the 2021 season. The Lions will see what the former first-round pick has left in the tank.

Detroit’s latest addition comes after starter Alim McNeill left Sunday’s game due to injury. Dan Campbell said the third-year starter might not be ready in time for Detroit’s Week 14 game against Chicago. McNeill left the Lions-Saints matchup multiple times due to injury, though his practice designation Wednesday will begin to determine how likely a Week 14 absence will be.

Tyson Alualu Aiming For New Steelers Deal

The Steelers have made a number of moves on the defensive line this offseason, which has left Tyson Alualu on the open market into June. The veteran aims to play in 2023, and his preference would be another campaign spent in Pittsburgh.

During an appearance on The Sick Podcast, the 36-year-old spoke about his plans for the upcoming season. He acknowledged that little is known with respect to his immediate future since he remains unsigned, but his approach to the offseason has not been different from those of years past. Another Steelers contract is his target, though a move elsewhere could still be in the cards.

“I’m preparing like I will play this season,” Alualu said. “I can’t tell where it’s gonna be. But in a perfect world, I would love to be back with the Steelers and finish here. But I’ve been training and it felt normal.”

The former top-10 pick spent the first seven years of his career in Jacksonville, starting 87 of 110 contests with the Jaguars. That was followed by a series of two-year deals with the Steelers, including one in 2021 which came after he appeared to have a return to Duval County in place. Alualu was limited to two games that year, but he returned to full health last season and suited up for all 17 contests.

The Cal alum saw his snap share fall to a career-low 27%, however, and he received a poor evaluation from PFF in run defense in particular, something which had traditionally been a strong suit. The Steelers have since made a number of decisions along their defensive front – including a new, three-year deal for Larry Ogunjobi – which do not include Alualu.

Pittsburgh has in-house option Montravius Adams as a familiar face at the defensive tackle spot. The team also signed Armon Watts and Breiden Fehoko in free agency, and added Keeanu Benton in the second round of this year’s draft. The Steelers currently have over $15.7MM in cap space, so they could easily afford a modest deal for Alualu if they reciprocated his desire to play at least one more year in Pittsburgh. If that is not the case, though, it will be worth monitoring if interest from other teams picks up in the summer.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/8/22

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

  • Waived/injured: DT Bryce Rodgers

Carolina Panthers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Washington Commanders

  • Signed: WR Matt Cole
  • Reverted to IR: WR Jequez Ezzard

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/27/22

Today’s minor NFL transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

  • Signed: OL Keenan Forbes, G Eric Wilson