Detroit Lions Sign 10 Players to Practice Squad
The Detroit Lions have officially signed 10 players to their practice squad for the 2023 NFL season.
The 10-player group consists of a number of familiar faces, including several who spent training camp with the organization but were cut prior to the finalization of the initial active roster.
Only one player who was waived, cornerback Starling Thomas V, was claimed off waivers by another team. Thomas was claimed by the Arizona Cardinals.
Detroit, meanwhile, did not claim someone off waivers for only the second time in eight seasons. The team will continue to make moves in the days leading up to its regular season opener against Kansas City Sept. 7.
Though these players didn't wind up making the team's initial 53-man roster, the Lions will have them to use at their disposal as the season progresses.
Dan Campbell touched upon, in his latest media session, the importance of having a practice squad that is ready and able to contribute in a pinch. Several players who began the 2022 season on Detroit's practice squad wound up playing pivotal roles on the active roster.
Under practice-squad rules, the Lions were allowed to add six players with unlimited years of experience, while the rest had to fit within the league's constraints for accrued experience.
Among the players who is returning to the Lions on the practice squad is kicker Michael Badgley. The veteran was Detroit's kicker last season, and returned for minicamp but eventually was released.
He spent time with both Washington and Tennessee during the preseason before being cut. Currently, the Lions have Riley Patterson as their only kicker on the active roster.
Max Pircher, while on the practice squad, will not count against Detroit's total allotment of 16 practice-squad positions, due to being part of the NFL's International Player Pathway program.
Lions' current 2023 practice squad
- OT Connor Galvin
- K Michael Badgley
- CB Chase Lucas
- WR Dylan Drummond
- WR Maurice Alexander
- G Kayode Awosika
- S Brandon Joseph
- LB Trevor Nowaske
- DL Chris Smith
- T Max Pircher
