Make no mistake, the Detroit Lions need help on the edge, but the interior is pretty strong with Alim McNeill, DJ Reader, Levi Onwuzurike, Roy Lopez, Mekhi Wingo, Myles Adams, and Brodirc Martin. Now they're making another move to help the interior by bringing back veteran lineman Pat O'Connor.
Bob Quinn drafted O'Connor back in 2017, but he didn't make it out of camp. He finally played for the Lions last year when they signed him as a free agent after he spent seven years with the Bucs. A lot of that time with new Lions defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers.
O'Connor has mostly been a special teams guy in his career, but last year when all the injuries went down, the Lions gave him a shot on the interior defensive line and he knocked it out of the park in that nose tackle role.
O'Connor showed to be a good run stuffer and made some big plays here and there. Now back with Detroit, he can help set the tone with Rodgers and help install things on that end since he spent so much time with him. He can also go back to being a solid special teams hand and rotate in anywhere on the line when needed.
In his career, O'Connor has appeared in 80 games. He played in 12 games last year for Detroit, totaling 18 combined tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack. The Eastern Michigan product had 10 pressures and a 55.3 pass-rush grade per Pro Football Focus.
Unfortunately, O'Connor's season came to an end after he suffered a calf injury in the regular season finale, and he was deemed inactive for the team's playoff loss to the Washington Commanders.
The Lions also re-signed Levi Onwuzurike last week as part of the initial wave of free agency. A 2021 second-round pick, Onwuzurike returns to Detroit on a one-year, $5.5 million contract.
