It's well-known how much the Detroit Lions defense has been depleted by injuries, and the effort to find help has led to a lot of moves being made sometimes. According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Lions were one of the teams to put in a waiver claim on former Washington Commanders defensive lineman Phidarian Mathis.
Mathis was awarded to the New York Jets on Monday, but Rapoport reported Houston Texans and Cincinnati Bengals as well as the Lions put in an claim on him. The Jets were easily the highest team in the waiver order among those four teams, since the order is in reverse order based on record. The Lions are near the bottom.
Mathis was a second-round pick (No. 47 overall) in the 2022 NFL Draft out of the University of Alabama. Over 23 games for the Commanders (zero starts), he has zero career sacks and 25 total tackles. In 12 games this season, he had 17 total tackles over a 34 percent snap share. He goes down as bust for Washington, and it was easy for the Commanders to part with another draft mistake from the previous regime when it came down to it.
Could the Lions pursue Phidarian Mathis as a free agent?
We know how much Lions general manager Brad Holmes likes Alabama players, at least those who played under Nick Saban (we'll see how that goes when players Kalen DeBoer recruited and developed start entering the NFL). So he saw Mathis at Alabama's Pro Day, and as Mike Payton of AtoZ Sports reminded us the Lions' coaching staff coached Mathis at the 2022 Senior Bowl.
Mathis will play Week 18 for the Jets, assuming he's in uniform after only a few days of practice in their system, then he'll be a free agent in March. He'll hit the market with about as little market value as you can have, but the Lions having familiarity with him from the 2022 pre-draft process could foster some interest from them. Maybe working with defensive line coach Terrell Williams would be just what Mathis needs to revive his career.
The Lions surely put in a waiver claim on Mathis knowing they were unlikely to get him. But they clearly had interest, and perhaps they circle back when surveying free agents in March.