On Monday afternoon, the Detroit Lions announced that they have signed rookie edge rusher Ahmed Hassanein to their practice squad.
Hassanein was selected by the Lions in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and he immediately captured fans’ attention with his “I’ll die for you, coach” mentality on the football field. While still very raw—he didn’t start playing football until he was 18 years old—Hassanein was an aggressive learner in training camp, soaking up any piece of information his coaches and teammates were willing to share. Throughout the preseason, you could see his growth happening every day, but on a Super Bowl-contending roster, he was still considered a bubble player when it came to the 53-man roster.
Join the conversation!
Sign up for a user account and get:
- Fewer ads
- Create community posts
- Comment on articles, community posts
- Rec comments, community posts
- Coming soon: New, improved notifications system!
Unfortunately, just ahead of cutdowns, Hassanein suffered a pectoral injury, and the Lions released him with an injury settlement. That meant Hassanein would have to sit out a specific period of time (determined in the settlement) plus an additional three weeks before he could re-sign with the Lions. While it was possible for him to join another NFL team during that additional three-week window, the expectations have always remained that he would return to Detroit once he was healthy.
“What is going to be the best path for him? To get him back to the practice field when he’s healthy? And the injury settlement was the way to go,” Lions general manager Brad Holmes said in September. “Especially him, specifically, with where he was in his football career. […] bottom line, he’s going to be a Detroit Lion, he’s going to be back on the football field playing this year.”
In late October, Hassanein posted videos of himself working out on the bench press, and it seemed like only a matter of time before he would return to Detroit. It appears that time has finally arrived, and the Lions will now get back to work in helping him further develop his football skills. While he is a tireless worker, Hassanein still needs time on task before he’ll be ready to contribute. That being said, this certainly seems like a terrific next step in what could be a long career with the Lions.
Update: Hassanein was listed on the NFL transaction report as an “international player,” meaning he doesn’t count against the Lions’ 16-man roster limit, as the Lions get a waiver that allows him to be the 17th member of their practice squad.
See More:
