A familiar face is returning for the Detroit Lions following long snapper Scott Daly’s season-ending injury.
On November 1, the Lions signed Jake McQuaide to the practice squad, as reported by Jeff Risdon of USA Today’s Lions Wire. After losing to Daly for the starting spot during training camp, McQuaide was cut loose by the Lions in August.
Though he was initially signed to the practice squad, the former Dallas Cowboys veteran McQuaide could end up playing an important role for a Lions team hoping for their first divisional title in nearly two decades.
Jake McQuaide’s Second Chance in Detroit
Though McQuaide signed with the Lions in March and had a chance to win the team’s long snapper position, he faced a tall task against Daly. The former undrafted free agent from Notre Dame had served as long snapper in Detroit for the previous two seasons, and was highly regarded among coaches.
Speaking to reporters on August 5, Lions special teams coach Dave Fipp said he wanted some competition for Daly after some unsteady play in 2022, but Daly ultimately won the training camp competition with McQuaide.
Fipp shared some praise for the work Daly had done to improve.
“Daly has done a good job since he’s been here, but last season I felt like personally, and him and I have talked about this, but I felt like personally he didn’t make the step forward that we wanted to see from him from the year before,” Fipp said. “We thought he got better, but he could get better at a faster rate and sometimes competition helps accelerate that process.”
It was not always so clear-cut that Daly would retain his job. As Colton Pouncy of The Athletic noted, the Pro Bowler McQuaide was a major acquisition for the Lions.
“Expect a battle here,” Pouncy wrote. “Good teams never stop searching for upgrades.”
Pouncy added that teams rarely make changes at long snapper, often keeping players in place for many years, so it was notable that the Lions even brought in competition for Daly.
“Teams don’t typically bring in competition at long snapper, so Daly, the incumbent, should not assume his spot is safe,” Pouncy wrote
Lions Make Other Additions
The Lions made another addition this week, acquiring wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones from the Cleveland Browns at the trade deadline. Though Peoples-Jones has seen a decrease in production after a career-best season in 2022, Lions head coach Dan Campbell said he saw a place for him in the wide receiving corps.
“I always feel like you’re one injury away,” Campbell said, via the team website. “That was a position we felt like if we could find a steady, reliable guy that fits us that could play outside that was something that we wanted to look and see if we could acquire.
“We thought that the DPJ (People-Jones) out there truly fit us. We like him that way. He can play a variety of positions and is intelligent. He performs for them everywhere. We simply think he’ll fit in well.
