On Saturday, the Detroit Lions announced seven roster moves for Sunday’s Week 10 game against the Houston Texans.
The Lions had an open spot on their 53-man roster after waiving rookie UDFA wide receiver Isaiah Williams—who was subsequently claimed by the Bengals—and created two more openings by waiving defensive end Isaiah Thomas and placing linebacker and special teams captain Jalen Reeves-Maybin on injured reserve.
To fill those three openings, the Lions signed tight end Shane Zylstra—which was expected after he used up all his practice squad elevations—as well as defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad, and linebacker Abraham Beauplan.
Essentially, Zylstra will solidify the Lions’ third tight end spot at the expense of keeping a developmental sixth wide receiver, they swapped out edge rushers as Muhammad has been playing better of late, and Beauplan will take over the Lions’ LB6 role, which is typically used for special teams purposes.
In addition to the moves made to the active roster, the Lions also elevated two practice squad players for Week 10: linebacker Ezekiel Turner and offensive tackle Jamarco Jones. These are clearly replacements for linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez and offensive tackle Taylor Decker, who have already been ruled out for this game. Both Turner and Jones will revert back to the Lions practice squad following the game and will not be subjected to waivers.
Cliff notes version of transactions:
- TE Shane Zylstra signed
- EDGE Al-Quadin Muhammad signed
- LB Abraham Beauplan signed
- EDGE Isaiah Thomas waived
- LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin placed on injured reserve
- LB Ezekiel Turner elevated for Week 10
- OT Jamarco Jones elevated for Week 10
