A number of roster changes were revealed by the Detroit Lions on Saturday afternoon. Adding Christian Mahogany to the Non-Football Illness list, placing kicker Michael Badgley on injured reserve after his season-ending injury, and reaching an injury settlement with offensive lineman Matt Farniok, who was waived, were a few of the procedural moves.
In addition to those transactions, though, the Lions also declared the signing of veteran linebacker Malik Jefferson.
When the Cincinnati Bengals made their final roster cuts in 2019, Jefferson—who had been selected in the third round by the organization in 2018—was discarded after just one season. He then went to the Browns in 2019, the Chargers in 2019, 2020, the Titans in 2020, the Colts in 2021, and the Cowboys in 2022–2023. Jefferson has only appeared in 38 games during that time with
Almost all of that experience has come on special teams. His most active season was in 2020 with the Chargers, where he played a total of 236 special teams snaps—tied for fourth-most on the team.
That’s Jefferson’s most likely path to the Lions’ 53-man roster. Detroit is pretty well set with their top five linebackers: Alex Anzalone, Jack Campbell, Derrick Barnes, Malcolm Rodriguez, and Jalen Reeves-Maybin. However, they may want to carry a sixth for special teams usage, much like they did with Anthony Pittman last year.
Earlier this offseason, the Lions signed veteran linebacker Ben Niemann to bring extra competition to that room. Now it appears Jefferson will enter the fray with an opportunity to make some noise.
As for Mahogany, the active/Non-Football Illness list operates much like the active/Non-Football Injury list. He is eligible to come off the list whenever he is healthy, and he still currently counts against the 90-man roster.
