The Detroit Lions are reportedly bringing back a familiar face to help soften the injury blow on defense and special teams.
According to a report from NFL insider Aaron Wilson, the Detroit Lions are signing linebacker Anthony Pittman—who was on the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad—to their 53-man roster.
While the Lions have yet to make any official roster moves, they lost four players to injury in Week 15, including running back David Montgomery, defensive tackle Alim McNeill, corner Carlton Davis, and corner/special teams ace Khalil Dorsey. All four are expected to be placed on injured reserve, with the only player who has a chance to return this season being Davis.
In turn, the Lions will open up four roster spots on their active roster, and Pittman appears to be filling one of them. While Pittman does not directly play the position of one of the injured players, he is a dynamic special teams player and could easily help fill the void left by Dorsey on special teams—though again, not a direct one-for-one replacement.
Pittman played his high school football at Birmingham Groves, attended Wayne State, and then joined the Lions in 2019 as an undrafted free agent. While originally signed by the Lions’ previous regime, current general manager Brad Holmes and coach Dan Campbell saw enough promise to make room for Pittman during the 2021-23 seasons.
Over those three seasons, Pittman played in 51 games (all 17 games in each season) but played mainly on special teams (1154 snaps) and only occasionally on defense (135 snaps). On special teams, Pittman is capable of contributing in all four phases, while he has the range to play the MIKE and SAM roles on defense.
