The Detroit Lions have reportedly waived Kwon Alexander with the hopes he’ll return to the practice squad after clearing waivers.
As first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Detroit Lions are waiving linebacker Kwon Alexander. This will be the second recently added Lions linebacker cut by the team this week. On Tuesday, the Lions waived David Long, who was subsequently claimed by the Tennessee Titans on waivers, only to fail a physical.
Per Schefter, the Lions are hoping Alexander clears waivers so they can bring him back to the practice squad.
Alexander was one of a handful of linebackers—including Long, Ezekiel Turner, Abraham Beauplan, Anthony Pittman, and LB/DB Jamal Adams—who were added midseason in order to help an injury-plagued roster. As of right now, Derrick Barnes, Alex Anzalone, Malcolm Rodriguez, and Jalen Reeves-Maybin are still on injured reserve. But with Reeves-Maybin returned to practice and Anzalone expected back soon, Detroit needs to clear space in the linebacker room.
Alexander was signed to the 53-man roster back on November 30. The 30-year-old linebacker has since appeared in two games for the Lions, starting both. He played a total of 29 snaps for the Lions, tallying four total tackles in those two games. Last week, he was a healthy scratch.
One thing that is working against Alexander is his lack of special teams play. He hasn’t regularly played in that phase of football since 2018. Meanwhile, Pittman, Turner, and Reeves-Maybin are capable of playing on both defense and special teams.
We’ll see if Alexander clears waivers.
In the meantime, the Lions now have two open spots on their 53-man roster. This week, they waived David Long, Chris Smith, and Alexander from the roster and signed Teddy Bridgewater to the 53-man roster.
