On Tuesday, the Detroit Lions announced that they have released three players from their active roster: defensive lineman Quinton Jefferson, cornerback Nick Whiteside, and nickelback Arthur Maulet—confirming a report from earlier in the day. These moves were presumably made in order to make room for multiple players returning from injury ahead of their Week 13 matchup with the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving Day.
Jefferson, a veteran defensive lineman, was originally brought in to help the Lions’ defensive line with depth. He was only active in Week 6, played on 14 defensive snaps, and did not record a stat. He’s been a weekly healthy scratch since. While Jefferson provided some veteran leadership, the return of Alim McNeill from PUP, combined with extra roster space needed, surely led the Lions to make this decision.
Whiteside joined the Lions mid-training camp, was released at cutdowns, then re-signed to the team in Week 6. Whiteside played a vital role in the Lions’ Week 7 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as part of the Legion of Whom, but has mainly been a special teamer since the Lions’ bye week. After the Lions returned D.J. Reed and Khalil Dorsey from injury last week, Whiteside was a healthy scratch in a suddenly loaded secondary. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Lions make an effort to return him to the practice squad.
Maulet was likely let go for a lot of the same reasons just laid out when discussing Whiteside, and could also be a candidate for a spot on the practice squad, as he was the Lions’ starting nickel corner for a handful of weeks.
Additionally, the Lions also announced that they have re-signed defensive back Erick Hallett to the practice squad. Hallet has terrific positional versatility and can play all five spots in the secondary, but with veteran Avonte Maddox on the active roster, the younger Hallett can use this time to further develop.
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