The Detroit Lions are giving their tight end room a late-season overhaul.
Just days after the team cut ties with tight end Ross Dwelley to make room for more help on defense, they also waived another tight end who spent just one week with the team. The Lions are preparing for a pivotal final stretch of the season and may need to win out in order to secure a trip back to the postseason.
Lions Waive Hayden Rucci One Week After Signing Him
The Lions announced on Wednesday that they waived the 24-year-old Rucci, who joined the team the prior week. The Lions claimed Rucci after he was waived by the Miami Dolphins.
Rucci provided some depth but did not appear in last week’s win over the Dallas Cowboys. He appeared in four games for the Dolphins this season, playing mostly on special teams and recording no stats on offense.
Both Rucci and Dwelley were waived to make room for more help on defense. Last week, the team signed cornerback Arthur Maulet after cutting ties with Dwelley. The Lions announced on Wednesday that they claimed safety Jalen Mills after he was waived by the Houston Texans.
As John Maakaron of SI.com noted at the time of Dwelley’s release, the Lions were growing thin at the tight end position.
âThe decision leaves Anthony Firkser and Hayden Rucci as the only tight ends on the 53-man active roster,â Maakaron wrote. âGiovanni Ricci currently holds a spot on the practice squad. Shane Zylstra practiced last week, but was sidelined again due to a knee injury.â
The Lions were already thin at tight end after losing star Sam LaPorta to a season-ending injury. He had been a top target for quarterback Jared Goff and an important piece of the team’s dangerous air attack.
The team will likely need to add some tight end help to the active roster, which could mean a return for Zylstra or a move to bring Ricci up from the practice squad.
Lions Boosting Ailing Secondary
While the Lions are apparently comfortable depleting their depth at tight end, the team has shown more concern for the injury-struck secondary. As Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press noted, Mills has the chance to take on a major role for a team missing two of their top defensive backs.
“He joins a Lions’ defense that’s shuffled starters in its secondary all year and will play the rest of the season without starting safety Brian Branch and second-year cornerback Terrion Arnold,” Birkett wrote. “Branch recently underwent surgery for his torn Achilles tendon, and Arnold posted on social media he will undergo shoulder surgery Thursday.”
The Lions could have a pair of other players returning soon, Birkett added.
“Pro Bowl safety Kerby Joseph hasn’t played in two months because of knee pain, but practiced Wednesday and could return for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams,” Birkett wrote. “Backup safety Thomas Harper was limited in practice Wednesday in his return from a brain injury.”
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