The Detroit Lions’ defense has been decimated by injuries all season. One position the injuries have had the most effect on is linebacker. Alex Anzalone, Malcolm Rodriguez, and Jalen Reeves-Maybin are all currently on injured reserve.
With those linebackers on injured reserve, the Lions were forced to add players to fill in. David Long Jr. was one of the linebackers that the Lions added. However, the Lions released Long earlier this week with the news that Reeves-Maybin is set to return soon.
Luckily for Long Jr., it didn’t take long for him to land with a new team. According to Jim Wyatt, Long was claimed by the Tennessee Titans on Wednesday.
The Lions signed Long the Monday following their Week 11 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Long then played the next week against the Indianapolis Colts. However, Long wasn’t officially part of the active roster until November 27.
As a Lion, Long recorded seven tackles, one tackle for loss, and one fumble recovery in five games. While those aren’t amazing stats, they are decent enough for a player who got cut by the Miami Dolphins during the season.
With the Titans adding Long, he now goes from a team that was a Super Bowl contender to a team that’s one of the worst in the NFL.
It is disappointing, although that is just the reality of the NFL. Every NFL player’s dream is to win a Super Bowl. For some, it may not matter if they see the field on that day.
In Long’s case, while he likely wouldn’t have seen the field in the playoffs with all the Lions linebackers returning, he could have at least been a depth piece. That said, some of the linebackers the Lions kept are veterans, too.
Both Ezekiel Turner and Ben Niemann have been around the NFL since 2018. Niemann already has a Super Bowl ring to his name with the Kansas City Chiefs, while Turner does not. Unfortunately, the Lions most likely looked at what they were getting from each of these players and decided that Long was the odd man out.
Who knows, maybe Long will return to the Lions sometime in the future.
