Allen Park — The Detroit Lions filled out most of their 16-man practice squad, brining back 14 players who were with the team during training camp.
Here’s a detailed rundown of the returning group:
Quarterback Luke Altmyer
An undrafted rookie free agent, Altmyer stayed home in Mississippi to begin his college career, but transferred to Illinois after two seasons, serving as the Illini’s starter for three years.
The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder earned honorable mention all-conference honors twice while completing 64.4% of his throws for 7,607 yards, 57 touchdowns to 21 interceptions.
Altmyer benefitted from Teddy Bridgewater’s retirement earlier in the month, gaining a larger percentage of the workload in practice. He demonstrated clear developmental growth throughout his first offseason and completed 63.0% of his passes for 271 yards and a touchdown during the preseason. However, he struggled with turnovers, tossing a trio of interceptions and losing a fumble.
Linebacker Joe Bachie
Detroit is the sixth stop for the former Michigan State standout. With 66 games of experience, including seven starts, the Lions appreciate his defensive versatility and special teams ability. For his career, he’s logged more than 1,100 snaps with those units.
Bachie operated with Detroit’s second-team defense most of camp, earning a start in the preseason finale.
Safety Aamaris Brown
Brown had a three-stop college career, going from Kansas State to South Florida to UNLV. The 5-foot-10, 197-pounder demonstrated plus athleticism with his pre-draft testing, earning an opportunity with the Lions as a UDFA.
Starting deep on the safety depth chart, his steady improvement allowed him to jump some of the other young defensive backs, earning a start in the preseason finale.
In three preseason games, Brown tallied nine tackles and two pass breakups.
Offensive tackle Devin Cochran
Undrafted out of Georgia Tech in 2022, Cochran spent more than three seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals to begin his pro career, prior to landing on Detroit’s practice squad last September.
Cochran didn’t appear in a game for the Lions last year, but earned a futures contract after the season. Appearing in the final two preseason games, he logged 65 offensive snaps, all at left tackle, and yielded just one quarterback pressure.
Tight end Thomas Gordon
Gordon spent six seasons at Northwestern before inking with the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent last year. He would go on to spend parts of the season on the team’s practice squad, but was added to Detroit’s offseason roster after the Bears let him go in late January.
The 6-foot-5, 255-pound Gordon saw a hefty workload during the preseason, topping 100 offensive snaps, most of which came in line, attached to the offensive tackle. He drew five targets in the pass game, catching two for 12 yards.
Wide receiver Lucky Jackson
Jackson went undrafted out of Western Kentucky back in 2020. He’s bounced around, from the CFL to the UFL, sandwiched around parts of three seasons on the Vikings’ practice squad. He did find his way into three regular season appearances with Minnesota.
After a successful campaign with the UFL’s Louisville Kings in the spring, Jackson joined the Lions between minicamp and training camp. The inside-out option steadily improved this summer and had a big impact in the season finale, racking up five catches for 94 yards.
Wide receiver Tom Kennedy
The Lions’ longest-tenured player, the former lacrosse standout first signed with the Lions as an undrafted free agent out of Bryant in 2019.
Kennedy has spent more time on Detroit’s practice squad than the active roster, but his grit, IQ and reliability has made him popular with teammates and coaches.
He’s appeared in 30 games during his career, logging 18 catches for 231 yards. He’s also shown the ability to capably handle kickoff and punt returns, which could pave the path to early-season playing time as a game-day elevation.
Edge Anthony Lucas
An undrafted rookie out of USC, Lucas posted a nondescript stat line during his three seasons with the Trojans, including just 3.0 sacks. However, the Lions liked his size and disruption on tape, quickly moving to sign him after the draft.
During his debut offseason, Lucas demonstrated toughness on the practice field, the ability to set an edge, as well as disrupt the pocket. In 94 preseason snaps, he generated five pressures, including a couple of hits on opposing quarterbacks.
Offensive lineman Mason Miller
Signed by the Lions as an undrafted free agent last offseason, Miller initially struggled with the transition from North Dakota State to the NFL. After not clicking at offensive tackle — his college position — Detroit shifted him to guard and kept him on the practice squad all year.
Miller continued to work primarily at guard this training camp, looking better suited for the interior alignment. However, the team asked him to move to center in late August after injuries impacted the depth chart. He would serve as the starting snapper in the preseason finale and surprised with how well he handled the role, despite his lack of experience.
Linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga
A mid-camp addition, Ogbongbemiga quickly caught the eye of coaches by always being around the ball. He tallied seven tackles in just 48 defensive snaps, while offering clear special teams ability.
The Nigerian native went undrafted out of Oklahoma State in 2021, spending multiple seasons with both the Chargers and Bears. He’s racked up an impressive 1,431 special teams snaps during his career.
Defensive tackle Chris Smith
A Detroit native, Smith went from Harvard to Notre Dame before signing with the Lions as a UDFA in 2023. He’s bounced back and forth between the team’s practice squad and active roster the past three seasons, making the initial 53 out of training camp a year ago.
Smith has appeared in five regular season games for the team and logged 58 defensive reps during the preseason, tallying three tackles and a quarterback pressure.
Defensive lineman Ben Stille
Another mid-camp addition, Stille exudes the toughness you’d expect from a Nebraska native and Cornhusker alum. Able to play across the defensive front, the 6-foot-4, 296-pounder impressed on the practice field with a quick first step and violent striking.
Stille has seen regular season playing time with four franchises, but has just 338 defensive snaps under his belt since coming into the league five years ago.
Defensive lineman Tyre West
A seventh-round pick out of Tennessee, West struggled to have an impact on the practice field and in preseason games during his inaugural NFL camp. A rotational piece on a deep defensive line in college, West is clearly an unfinished product.
It’s noteworthy that most of the 6-foot-2, 283-pounder’s work came on the inside after primarily working as an edge at Tennessee.
Cornerback Nick Whiteside
One of the more surprising cuts on Sunday, Whiteside returns to Detroit’s practice squad, where he will continue to work on being a more consistent option on the outside, while potentially developing versatility to play safety, like he was doing late in camp.
A Michigan native that played at Saginaw Valley State, Whiteside signed with the Commanders as an undrafted rookie in 2023, played for the UFL’s St. Louis Battlehawks in the spring of 2025, and signed with the Lions during last year’s training camp.
Whiteside wasn’t initially offered a practice squad spot by Detroit last season, but signed to the unit a few weeks into the season, eventually earning a promotion to the active roster following a memorable performance as an injury replacement against Tampa Bay.
justin, really appreciate you being even keel in this process while some of your peers pretend to know more than campbell and holmes despite seeing a fraction of the practice time that they do.
With Dortch reportedly going to Buffalo, I expect Kennedy will get a few early promotions, then be signed to the active roster replacing one of the running backs once Pacheco is either back in action or gone to IR.