Allen Park — At the end of last season, defensive tackle Isaiah Buggs was emphatic about his desire to remain with the Detroit Lions. On Monday, the team fulfilled that wish, re-signing him two days before he was set to become an unrestricted free agent.
“We’re going to build something great here and I want to be a part of it when it happens,” Buggs said. “I didn’t want to go into free agency wondering about where I was going to be, where I was going to end up. When Detroit called me and they said, ‘We want you back,’ I wanted to be back. I always wanted to be back and I’m glad we made that happen.”
With incentives, the two-year deal is reportedly worth up to $6 million, according to the NFL Network.
A late addition to the roster last summer, Buggs joined the team days before the start of training camp. It didn’t take long to establish himself as part of the team’s rotation, and by the second month of the season he was a permanent fixture in the starting lineup.
A sixth-round pick for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2019, Buggs logged 755 defensive snaps for the Lions last season, more than doubling his workload from his first three years combined. He finished with 46 tackles and 20 quarterback pressures, the second-most for an interior lineman on Detroit’s roster.
Questioning his future in football after being let go by the Steelers in January, Buggs quickly fell in love with his new home. During the season, Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said he received a text daily from the defensive lineman expressing his appreciation.
“The first day I stepped in this facility, coaches, players, everybody treated me like I’ve been here my whole career,” Buggs said. “Just being around a great group of guys, I really felt home here. And these coaches, man, they’re outstanding coaches. They really believe in you and really put you in the best situation to win. That was my main thing, finding a place where I can fit in, I can be a leader and I can just do what’s asked and buy in. Detroit was that place for me.”
Buggs’ biggest game came in a late-season win over the Minnesota Vikings, when he recorded his lone sack and also forced a fumble at the goal line that was recovered by the Lions. He also had a season-high seven tackles, including a pair of goal line stops, in the finale against Green Bay.
“If you want to be wanted, you have to put in the work to be wanted,” Buggs said after the season. “This league don’t owe anybody anything. You have to put in the time and earn your respect. That was my main goal this year was putting in my time to earn my respect and be wanted.”
Looking forward, Buggs figures to retain a prominent role in Detroit’s defensive front, along with third-year man Alim McNeil and Benito Jones, an exclusive rights free agent who is expected to be tendered in the coming days.
“We’re young, but I feel like we’re going to be ready,” Buggs said. “I feel like everybody knows the system. I feel like everybody is ready to buy in and become a great defense, one of the top defenses in the league. And I’m buying in and hope that happens for us. I think we’re going to be great next year.”
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers
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