The Detroit Lions have made some small moves to add to their impending 2026 roster ahead of free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft.
The team announced on Monday that they had signed running back Jacob Saylors, cornerback Nick Whiteside, and offensive lineman Michael Niese. They were all ERFA's, meaning that they were players under exclusive rights with the Lions, and less than three seasons in the NFL. They will all be signed with the team on league-minimum deals.
Bringing back Whiteside and Niese makes sense for this Lions roster considering their depth issues at both cornerback and on their offensive line. However, it's a bit surprising to see that Saylors has landed a new deal. He struggled as a kick returner later in the season, with Tom Kennedy looking like he stole his spot on special teams.
But, he's back on a very digestible deal, and that's good news for Saylors and the Lions' special teams unit.
Lions make signings after conclusion of 2025 season
A few signings were to be expected as the Monday following the last game of the regular season was the first day teams could begin signing players to new futures deals.
Niese is likely to continue to compete in the offensive line room with so many openings abound at tackle, center, and guard, while Whiteside has a legitimate shot at staying on the roster as a backup cornerback given the work he did this season in relief of Terrion Arnold.
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Detroit also made a ton of reserve/future contract signings on Monday:
Lions have signed the following players to Reserve/Future Contracts pic.twitter.com/zYsHtaqFf0
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) January 5, 2026
Ahmed Hassanein stands out, as the rookie never got a chance to play in a regular season game after injuring his pec in the preseason.
Saylors slots to end up back with the special teams unit, as his speed could still be a valuable addition to the room. He will just need to work on his ability to break more tackles in the open field, and reading more of the field on kick returns. He struggled to not get caught up immediately around the 20 yard line on his returns, often bee-lining from wherever he caught the kick.
Detroit has a ton of other work to do to reconstruct some key areas of their roster, specifically with respect to figuring out what their plan is at tackle and center. Shifting pieces over and exploring the draft and free agency will be where Detroit finds their solution there, while health is the biggest solution to their woes in their secondary.