Detroit Lions Sign Edge Rusher Isaiah Thomas After Aidan Hutchinson’s Injury

With Aidan Hutchinson being placed on injured reserve due to a tibia and fibula fracture that takes 4-6 months to heal, the Detroit Lions filled his roster spot on Tuesday.

The Lions signed defensive end Isaiah Thomas off the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad. Thomas, who played college football at Oklahoma, was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He played in ten games his rookie year, and in the off-season, he stayed in the division and went to the Bengals. He has not recorded a stat during the 2023 or 2024 season, but the Lions hope to tap into his potential, as he stands 6’5’’ and weighs 266 pounds.

The Lions are incredibly thin at defensive end, with Marcus Davenport also on IR, a player they hoped would rush opposite to Hutchinson. Detroit will be counting on Josh Paschal, their second-round draft pick in 2022, to fill in for the missing pieces and breakout. However, Paschal has not yet recorded a sack through three seasons in his NFL career.

Even with the injury concerns, Dan Campbell did not say his team needed to make a trade on Monday and believes in the talent on their roster.

“Yeah. I mean, listen, my job is to coach what’s here, and I’m going to coach the hell out of them, and we are as a staff. And so, yeah, I do (think we can win with what we have). And if we get somebody, great. If we don’t, these are our guys. And the coaches know that. This is what we came into camp with; this is why we develop talent, and it’s next man up, and they’ve got to be ready to go.”

The Lions will play the Minnesota Vikings on the road this week in an in-division matchup between one-loss teams. ESPN Bet currently lists Detroit as a 2.5-point underdog.