Detroit Lions set to sign veteran cornerback Mike Hughes

The Detroit Lions are adding some help in their secondary, agreeing to terms with veteran cornerback Mike Hughes.

After a first week of free agency that saw them sign two players from outside the organization, the Detroit Lions are halfway to that total not even one day into the second week. According to Doug Kyed of Pro Football Focus, the Lions have have agreed to a one-year, $3.5 million deal with cornerback Mike Hughes.

Hughes was a first-round pick (No. 30 overall) by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2018 draft. His time in Minnesota was marred by injuries, notably a torn ACL as a rookie and a neck injury that ended his 2019 season early and lingered into the following season.

The Vikings traded Hughes and a 2022 seventh-round pick to the Kansas City Chiefs for a 2022 sixth-round pick last offseason. He played all 17 regular season games for Kansas City last season, making five starts, with 47 total tackles, one interception, six pass breakups, four forced fumbles and a fumble return for a touchdown.

Mike Hughes adds experience to Lions cornerback depth chart

Though he’s been in the NFL for four seasons, Hughes is only a year older (25) than Lions’ to-be second-year cornerbacks Jerry Jacobs and AJ Parker (h/t to Chris Burke of The Athletic). He’s coming off the best season of his career, and most importantly it was a healthy season.

Hughes (5-foot-10, 186 pounds) mostly lined up as an outside corner last season for the Chiefs, but he was used a lot in the slot by the Vikings. That versatiluty carries value in today’s NFL.

As noted by Justin Rogers of The Detroit News, among the Lions incumbent cornerbacks before Hughes’ signing only Amani Oruwariye has played more than 600 NFL snaps. Add in the uncertainty around the injury recoveries of Jeff Okudah (Achilles) and Jacobs (torn ACL), and Hughes brings some much-needed experience to Detroit’s cornerback room go with the versatility.