The Lions have reached a deal with their second free agent defensive back of the week.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports that they have agreed to sign cornerback Roger McCreary. It is a one-year deal for McCreary, who joins Christian Izien as newcomers to the defensive backfield in Detroit.
McCreary was a Titans 2022 second-round pick and he played in 55 games for the team before being traded to the Rams during the 2025 season. McCreary had 12 tackles for the Rams in nine games across the regular season and playoffs. He had 253 tackles, three interceptions, four sacks, and a forced fumble while in Tennessee.
Terrion Arnold, D.J. Reed, Ennis Rakestraw, Khalil Dorsey, Rock-Ya Sin, and Nick Whiteside are also on hand at cornerback for the Lions.
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Veteran tight end Tyler Conklin’s next stop will be Detroit.
Conklin’s agent Mike McCartney announced that his client has agreed to sign a one-year deal with the Lions.
Conklin is making the move to the NFC North after spending last season with the Chargers. He had seven catches for 101 yards while appearing in 13 games and making five starts.
That came after a three-year run that saw Conklin catch 170 passes for 1,622 yards and seven touchdowns with the Jets.
Sam LaPorta, Brock Wright, Zach Horton, and Thomas Gordon are the other tight ends on the roster for the Lions.
Free agent running back Isiah Pacheco signed with the Lions to back up Jahmyr Gibbs, and Pacheco says he’s ready to do whatever he can in a backup role.
Pacheco said at an introductory press conference in Detroit that he admires what the Lions have built and will contribute in any way he can, on the field or off.
“Jahmyr is a hell of a player,” Pacheco said. “Hats off to him and the guys who have been putting in work here for a couple years now. Me looking from the outside in, it’s a hell of a group, and whatever I can do to contribute to the team is going to happen. Whether that’s punting the ball, whatever it’s at, no matter where I’m at on the field, cheering the guys on, bringing excitement to the team, bringing leadership, accountability.”
Pacheco won two Super Bowl rings with the Chiefs, and he said he was offered the opportunity to remain in Kansas City but felt that Detroit was the best place for him.
“I’ve been a two-time champ, I’m not satisfied though. I’m more hungry than I ever was and I’m ready to get to work,” Pacheco said. “I’m hungry and I want to win it here, not anywhere else.”
The Buccaneers have agreed to terms with edge rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad on a one-year deal with a maximum value of $6 million, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports.
Muhammad was in Tampa for a visit on Thursday.
He ranks 59th on PFT’s list of this year’s top free agents.
Muhammad made a career-high 11 sacks, while playing a rotational role for the Lions during the 2025 season. Muhammad also had three sacks in nine games after joining the team in 2024.
Muhammad also played in 80 games for the Saints, Colts and Bears before landing with the Lions.
The Buccaneers lost defensive lineman Logan Hall to the Texans this week.
The Buccaneers are bringing in a possible free agent addition for a visit.
According to multiple reports, they are meeting with defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad on Thursday. Muhammad was the No. 59 player on PFT’s list of this year’s top free agents.
Muhammad set a career high with 11 sacks while playing a rotational role for the Lions during the 2025 season. Muhammad also had three sacks in nine games after joining the team the previous year.
Muhammad also played in 80 games for the Saints, Colts and Bears before landing with the Lions.
The Buccaneers lost a defensive lineman when Logan Hall agreed to sign with the Texans this week.
The Lions are adding to their secondary.
Detroit is signing cornerback Christian Izien to a one-year deal, according to multiple reports.
Izien, 25, joined Tampa Bay as an underrated free agent in 2023. He appeared in 17 games with four starts as a rookie before playing 14 games with 10 starts in 2024. He was on the field for 14 games with one start in 2025, getting 50 percent of special teams reps in games played, along with 20 percent of defensive snaps.
He’s tallied five passes defensed, three interceptions, and three forced fumbles in his 45 career games.
The Buccaneers did not place a restricted free agent tender on Izien earlier this month, making him an unrestricted free agent available to sign with any team. The Bucs reportedly had interest in bringing him back, but were unable to do so.
The Lions kicked off the new league year by kicking defensive lineman Josh Paschal off the roster.
The Lions announced Paschal’s release shortly after the 2026 league year began at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday. The move clears Paschal’s entire cap hit of just over $1.75 million for the coming season.
Paschal was a 2022 second-round pick in Detroit and played in 40 games for the team in the regular season and playoffs before missing all of 2025 due to a back injury.
Paschal had 69 tackles, five sacks and two fumble recoveries during his time with the team.
Defensive linemen D.J. Reader, Al-Quadin Muhammad and Marcus Davenport also became free agents at the start of the league year.
Defensive end Tyrus Wheat is headed back to Dallas.
According to multiple reports, Wheat has agreed to sign with the Cowboys. Wheat played in Dallas during the 2023 and 2024 seasons, but left to play for the Lions in 2025.
The Lions opted not to tender Wheat with a contract as an exclusive rights free agent, which left him available to return to the Cowboys.
Wheat had 15 tackles, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble in 15 appearances for Detroit last season. He had 17 tackles and a half-sack in his 20 appearances with the Cowboys during his first stint with the team.
The Lions have given themselves significant 2026 salary cap space by restructuring quarterback Jared Goff’s contract.
By converting $40 million of his 2026 base salary into a signing bonus and adding a void year, Detroit added $32 million in cap space for this season, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Goff’s total pay for 2026 will be unchanged, but now less of that pay will count toward this year’s cap and more of that pay will count toward future years’ salary caps.
Officially, the Lions were tight against the salary cap heading into today’s 4 p.m. deadline for every team to be under. But it was never really a concern because they always had restructuring Goff’s contract as an option. The Lions have multiple other highly paid players whose contracts could be similarly restructured if they decide to clear more cap space for this year.
After a disappointing 2025 season, the Lions think they can get back into contention in 2026. They’ll have the cap space to add major veteran contributors toward that goal, if they choose to do so.
The best indicator of a player’s expected role with a new team is the investment made to get him. For the Lions, the contract given to running back Isiah Pacheco means that will be the clear No. 2 to Jahmyr Gibbs.
Via Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, it’s a one-year, $1.81 million deal. This means that the days of Sonic and Knuckles are over. For 2026, it’ll be all Sonic for the Lions.
As it should be. Gibbs is a potential superstar. As a rookie, his playing time was limited to 57 percent. In 2024, it was 56 percent. Last year, it moved to 67 percent.
With that workload, Gibbs still had 1,839 yards from scrimmage and 18 total touchdowns.
By way of comparison, 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey had 83 percent playing time in 2025 — and 2,126 yards from scrimmage.
With Gibbs in line for a significant second contract, they’ll need to get value. With David Montgomery due to be traded to the Texans on Wednesday, the new-look depth chart will likely lay the foundation for Gibbs to be a Barry Sanders/Billy Simms-type presence in the Detroit offense.
