The Detroit Lions have claimed two players on the waiver wire: defensive tackle Tyler Lacy and defensive end Tyrus Wheat. Both players will immediately join Detroit’s active roster, pushing their total to 52 out of the 53-player maximum.
Lacy was a 2023 fourth-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars out of Oklahoma State. Over two seasons, Lacy played in 28 games and started eight for the Jaguars last season. In total, he produced 37 tackles, three tackles for loss, and four quarterback hits—but zero sacks.
At 6-foot-4, 279 pounds, Lacy is certainly in the mold of a tweener; capable of playing on the interior and on the edge. In fact, in his rookie season, he split his time nearly evenly between defensive tackle and defensive end. However, last season, he played almost exclusively on the inside.
As for Wheat, he went undrafted in 2023 and spent the previous two seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. There, he made 20 game appearances for Dallas. His rookie season, he played mostly on special teams, logging 197 snaps on that unit. This past year, he logged 165 defensive snaps, managing to parlay that playing time into 14 tackles and 0.5 sacks.
These players will slide onto Detroit’s 53-man roster in the place of players whom the Lions cut, like rookie UDFA Keith Cooper Jr., Isaac Ukwu, and Nate Lynn. The good news for fans of those players is that every Lions player who was waived cleared waivers and is now eligible to return to Detroit’s practice squad.
You can see the status of all the Lions’ practice squad signings, waiver claims, and an updated 53-man roster with our tracker here.
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