Lions add veteran LB, waive defensive tackle and place two on non-football injury list

The Lions added linebacker Troy Reeder to the roster heading into training camp (Getty Images)

Allen Park — The Detroit Lions made a handful of roster moves ahead of the start of the team’s training camp on Wednesday.

First, on Monday, the team bolstered its linebacking depth, coming to terms with Troy Reeder. A day later, the Lions announced the release of defensive tackle Jay Tufele, while guard Christian Mahogany and defensive back Christian Izien were placed on the non-football injury list.

Reeder, entering his eighth season, came into the league as an undrafted free agent with the Los Angeles Rams in 2019. That means he overlapped with Lions general manager Brad Holmes’ tenure as the Rams director of college scouting.

Reeder spent three seasons with the Rams before short stints with the Chargers and Vikings, leading to a second three-year run with the Rams in 2023. In total, he’s appeared in 106 games, including 38 starts. He also has extensive special teams experience, logging more than 1,700 snaps with those units.

As for Tufele, his release concludes a short stay in Detroit. He initially signed with the club in late April. The longtime backup spent most of his career with Cincinnati, but was most recently with the New York Jets.

The NFI list additions follow the placement Kerby Joseph, Brian Branch and Tyler Conklin on the physically unable to perform list earlier this week. The designations function the same, with the injured players eligible to be activated at any time during camp. The primary difference is Mahogany and Izien suffered an injury/illness during a non-team activity.

Mahogany is the frontrunner to be the team’s starting left guard, but faces competition for the job, primarily from incoming veterans Ben Bartch and Juice Scruggs.

Izien, meanwhile, is expected to help bridge the absences of Joseph and Branch. The newcomer, signed as a free agent after spending his first three seasons in Tampa Bay, had been repping with the first-team defense through the early stages of the offseason program.

There was no immediate information available on the type or extent of Mahogany or Izien’s conditions. Lions coach Dan Campbell is expected to address the team’s injuries during his first camp media session on Wednesday morning.