Detroit Lions sign defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs on verge of training camp

With the start of training camp approaching, the Detroit Lions have signed defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs.

The Detroit Lions rookies will report to training camp on Saturday, with veterans to follow early next week. But the team is set to complete one last pre-camp transaction, with NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reporting they will sign defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs.

Buggs was taken in the sixth round (No. 192 overall) of the 2019 draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He has 29 games on his resume over three seasons with the Steelers (seven starts, six last season), with 31 career tackles (two tackles for loss) and zero sacks over 433 total snaps.

As Pelissero noted, Buggs was waived by Pittsburgh in January and joined the Las Vegas Raiders for the playoffs. He did not play in the Raiders’ playoff loss to the Bengals.

Buggs (6-foot-3, 295 pounds) is in line to take the place of the retired John Pensini as a nose tackle type on the Lions’ 90-man roster (168 of his 227 snaps for Pittsburgh last year were as a nose tackle). Pensini’s retirement has not yet been made official, but it’s surely coming now.

Isaiah Buggs added to camp battle for spots on Lions’ defensive line

Buggs was a two-year starter in college at Alabama. As a senior in 2018, he advanced himself as an NFL prospect with 9.5 sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss while primarily being an edge guy for the Crimson Tide.

The Lions are still looking for depth along the interior defensive line. Buggs will join Jashon Cornell, Bruce Hector, undrafted rookie Demetrius Taylor, etc. in a training camp batttle for what looks to be one or two roster spots. Buggs may gain an edge based on the versatility he has shown going back to college, as the Lions expand to four-man defensive fronts and try to be multiple/unpredictable.