The Detroit Lions made a couple of roster moves on Tuesday, and they’re not at positions you’d expect.
The Lions cut receiver Ronnie Bell from the practice squad, and to take Bell’s spot, the Lions signed free agent linebacker Ty Summers.
Bell signed with Detroit way back in January after a couple of seasons with the San Francisco 49ers. After being drafted by the 49ers in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft, Bell made 26 game appearances (zero starts) and caught eight total passes for 90 yards and three touchdowns, while also contributing on special teams. He failed to make the Lions’ 53-man roster to start this year, but he was quickly signed to the practice squad.
Last week, the Lions opted to give a gameday elevation to rookie receiver Jackson Meeks over Bell. This perhaps suggests the Lions liked what they saw out of Meeks, who is now one of three receivers on the practice squad (Tom Kennedy, Malik Cunningham).
You may remember Summers for a brief stint on the team back during 2024 training camp. He spent two weeks with the team before he was released in the final roster cuts. In two preseason appearances, Summers logged 10 tackles, 1.0 sack and two tackles for loss for Detroit. He would end up signing with the New York Giants and was active for 16 games for them last season, logging 272 special teams snaps.
It’ll be interesting to see what his role will be on gameday. Detroit is pretty deep at linebacker, although veteran Zach Cunningham did suffer a hamstring injury during practice last week, causing him to miss the Browns game. That said, Malcolm Rodriguez is eligible to come off the physically unable to perform list this week, and it appears he’s getting close to returning after suffering a torn ACL in late November.
Many were expecting the Lions to potentially make a move at cornerback after D.J. Reed suffered a hamstring injury that will keep him out “a while,” and Terrion Arnold is battling a shoulder injury. It’s still quite possible they end up making a move, as they usually hold visits and tryouts on Tuesday and sign those players officially on Wednesday.
Detroit still has an open spot on their 53-man roster after placing safety Daniel Thomas on injured reserve late last week.
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