The Detroit Lions have had a successful 2024 campaign, as Dan Campbell’s squad is 13-2 and atop the NFC North due to holding the head-to-head advantage over the Minnesota Vikings, who are also 13-2 and lost to Detroit in Week 7. The Lions will travel to Levi’s Stadium to square off against the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football in Week 17.

Though the Lions boast one of the deepest rosters in the league, the team has been ravaged by injuries, especially at linebacker. The most crushing injury at the position occurred in Week 11 when team captain Alex Anzalone suffered a broken forearm and was ruled out for six to eight weeks by Dan Campbell.

After Anzalone’s injury, general manager Brad Holmes signed linebacker David Long Jr. to the practice squad on Nov.18 for extra depth at the position. Long Jr. spent the first eight games of the season with the Miami Dolphins before being waived by the team on Nov.13.

Long Jr. appeared in five games for the Lions and totaled seven tackles before being waived by Detroit on Monday. It didn’t take long for the 28-year-old to find a new home, as Long Jr. was claimed off waivers by the Tennessee Titans on Wednesday, the team who drafted him in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. The Titans also placed starting linebacker Kenneth Murray Jr. on season-ending Injured Reserve, so a reunion with Long Jr. makes sense.

Long Jr. spent the first four seasons of his career with Tennessee and had 86 total tackles in 12 games in 2022 with the Titans. The former sixth-round pick signed a two-year deal with the Dolphins during the 2023 offseason and played all 17 games with Miami in 2023, posting 113 total tackles.

2024 has been a wild year for Long Jr., but he will end the season in the place where his NFL career began: The Tennessee Titans.