The dust has really settled on everything at this point. The acquisitions phase of the offseason is done for the most part. The Detroit Lions had a ton of their own free agents this offseason. More than usual. 39 players in total.
Most of those guys have either remained with the Lions on new contracts or they’ve signed elsewhere. There’s now just 11 players remaining and the question today is if any of them should get another shot with the Lions at training camp?
It’s not something that’s out of the ordinary. Teams bring players back all the time. The Lions are one of them. Tom Kennedy was brought back after being released before the season, David Blough had multiple shots with the team, Jalen Reeves-Maybin came back after a year with the Texans and the Lions just brought back C.J. Moore after spending the year away with a suspension.
Would they bring back any of these 11 players?
Mohammed Ibrahim
Not too long ago we suggested that Ibrahim could be the Lions third running back at some point. Things began to trend that way a little bit and then he got hurt in the preseason and was waived with an injury designation. The Lions signed him back when he was healthy and then elevated him for the game against the Ravens.
Unfortunately he suffered a very bad hip injury in that game and was rushed to the hospital from the stadium to have emergency surgery, He did not return to the field that year. It was a hard rookie season for him.
With Sione Vaki here as well as Craig Reynolds and Zonovan Knight, there’s really no chance Ibrahim gets another shot with the Lions at this point.
Jason Cabinda
We had Jason Cabinda on for an interview a few weeks back and asked him if there was a future for him and the Lions. He simply said “we shall see.” It’s a hard one to answer right now. The big thing is will the Lions use a fullback. If they do, do they want to use a roster spot for one?
Right now they have Malcolm Rodriguez, who can play both ways and step in at fullback when needed. That allows the Lions to have a fullback and not use an extra spot. That might be a hard obstacle for Cabinda to jump over.
Anthony Firkser
Firkser was a nice player to have around last year because there was that option that he could play fullback if needed. The Lions didn’t do that, but they did have him play in some big games after the Brock Wright injury. With the return of Shane Zylstra and the signings of Parker Hesse and Sean McKeon, there’s just not room to give Firkser another shot.
Jerry Jacobs
Don’t be surprised if you one day see Jacobs wearing a Lions jersey again. He’s still out there right now. He’s a guy that has value, even if he really struggled as a starter. He still showed some ball hawking ability and we’ve seen what he can do as a depth piece. While the cornerback room seems super deep at the moment, there’s still room for one more guy to come in and compete for a spot. Jacobs could be that guy if he’s still available in July.
Tracy Walker
We’ve already documented that we think Walker should get another shot at a reduced rate with the safety spot a bit up in the air.
Tyson Alualu
He was really solid for the Lions defensive line last season and in the playoffs. It was a bit of a surprise he wasn’t brought back on a short term deal. Now the Lions have made some massive upgrades at the position and with Alualu being on the older side at 37-years-old, you can see why the Lions won’t be bringing back.
Michael Schofield
This was always an interesting one. Schofield has a ton of NFL experience and was a starter for multiple years. Yet the Lions never actually used him. He must have shown that he’s not able to contribute anymore. Don’t expect him to be back.
Halapoulivaati Vaitai
You really hate to see it end this way, but the back injury might have gotten the best of Vaitai and while he hasn’t made anything official and could still decide to keep going, the expectation is that he will retire at some point sooner than later. It’s a shame because he was a solid veteran presence.
Charles Harris
It sucks that this one turned out the way it did. Harris had a career year in 2021 and the hope was that he had totally turned things around and shown that he was a first-round pick for a reason. Sadly injury got in the way of that turnaround and in 2023 he struggled a lot. To the point where he was a healthy scratch multiple times. I wouldn’t expect to see Harris back again. It is worth noting that he does have some experience with new Lions defensive line coach Terrell Williams though.
Jake McQuaide
That was probably it for McQuaide last year. Don’t feel bad for him though, he had a very solid career that saw him make multiple Pro Bowls. With Scott Daly back and Hogan Hatten also on the roster, the Lions are set at long snapper.
Cameron Sutton
No