Everything you need to know about edge rusher Lions poached off Bengals' practice squad
Allen Park — Needing an influx of pass-rushing talent following season-ending injuries for Aidan Hutchinson and Marcus Davenport, the Lions poached Isaiah Thomas off the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad Tuesday afternoon.
The former Oklahoma standout was a Big 12 second-team selection each of his final two seasons at the school, netting 8.5 sacks in 2020 and 8.0 as a senior in 2021.
He rubber-stamped his NFL potential at the scouting combine the following year, measuring in at 6-foot-5 and 266 pounds with top-end speed for his position — a 4.7-second 40-yard dash with an elite 1.61-second 10-yard split — to go with above-average strength and explosion metrics.
“Long, rangy 4-3 defensive end with pass-rush talent to be cultivated, but a lack of stoutness at the point of attack,” NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote. “Thomas' field movements are a bit gawky and segmented, but can also be effective. He combines efficient hands and an instinctive feel for advantageous angles to grease the edge and attack the pocket. He needs to build his lower half to improve rush consistency against physical tackles, though. Thomas' length and pass-rush talent could help him find sub-package snaps while he attempts to develop into a starting-caliber end.”
Selected in the seventh round by the Browns, he appeared in 10 games as a rookie, logging 162 snaps and netting nine tackles, 1.0 sack, a fumble recovery and eight QB pressures.
Thomas suffered a season-ending knee injury during the 2023 preseason, but returned this offseason and played 124 snaps in the Browns' three preseason games, generating five pressures, three QB hits and a sack.
Still, it wasn’t enough to make the roster. While not shocking, his release was noted by multiple local publications as one of the bigger surprises. Thomas would land on the Bengals' practice squad a few days after being let go by the Browns.
The Lions had three open roster spots after placing Hutchinson and defensive tackle Kyle Peko on injured reserve Tuesday. Thomas will fill one, and because he was poached from another team's practice squad, he must remain on the team’s active roster for a minimum of three weeks.
I like this move. If nothing else, he'll be a solid rotational piece.
Not the acquisition you're looking for, but sounds like a very low-risk depth dice roll on what they must feel is coachable talent with above-decent potential.