Patriots claim former Lions LB off waivers, illustrates depth in Detroit

Throughout the offseason, one of the common themes from analysts and media is that the Detroit Lions have one of the deepest rosters in the NFL. On Tuesday, that point was illustrated when former Lions rookie linebacker Steele Chambers was claimed off waivers by the New England Patriots.

At this time in the offseason, the NFL waiver system is still based on last season’s record, meaning the Patriots held the third option in the pecking order of waiver claims. Therefore, it’s unclear if they were the only team to put in a claim, or if others also did so, and New England beat them to the punch.

During the Brad Holmes/Dan Campbell tenure with the Lions, we have seen the organization build the roster brick by brick, slowly filling holes and expanding deep position groups even further. It’s been an impressive process to watch unfold.

In the past few offseasons, we have regularly seen players released by the Lions get claimed by other NFL teams and carve out roles. Just last season, the Arizona Cardinals alone claimed Starling Thomas after training camp, then Trevor Nowaske off waivers late in the season, with both seeing regular season action in the desert.

For perspective, Thomas was beaten out by Steven Gilmore for the last cornerback spot on the Lions roster in 2023. Gilmore was active for three games, with his final game coming in Week 7 of the regular season. Meanwhile, Thomas played in 12 games for the Cardinals and started seven games after Week 7. Furthermore, Nowaske actually made the Lions’ roster during the season after the Cowboys tried to claim him off Detroit’s practice squad, but the Lions were forced to waive him late in the season in order to make room for players returning from injured reserve. They wanted to keep him but simply didn’t have the space.

While it’s not uncommon to see players on the fringe of the 53-man roster get claimed and establish roles with another organization, it’s quite a bit more unusual to see players near the end of a 90-man roster get claimed mid-June.

While Chambers may not have necessarily been the 90th player on the Lions roster, per se—he was released to make room for another player at his position, linebacker Ben Niemann—it’s fair to say he was near the bottom, if the Lions were willing to move on from him at this stage of the offseason.

And for the player that the Lions essentially deemed not good enough to make it to training camp and challenge for a roster spot—even one on the practice squad—to be claimed, is a great illustration that this may be the deepest Lions roster we have seen in decades.