The Detroit Lions have officially re-signed offensive lineman Michael Niese.
Niese was an exclusive-rights free agent who reportedly was tendered by the team last month. But with players reporting for offseason workouts, the deal was signed and made official on Tuesday.
The 27-year-old appeared in every game for the Lions last season, with 96 snaps on special teams and another 35 on offense. He’s spent the last two years with the Lions after stints with the Denver Broncos, Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Niese went undrafted as a center out of Temple by way of Dayton in 2021.
Niese brings depth at guard and center for the offseason program and training camp. He knows the coaching staff and his fellow offensive linemen, and was an easy decision to bring back. But nothing changes about the team’s need for more interior offensive line depth in this week’s NFL draft.
The Lions lost Kevin Zeitler to the Tennessee Titans in free agency. They have Graham Glasgow and Christian Mahogany as their top in-house options at guard, with Kayode Awosika, Niese and potentially Giovanni Manu in the mix to see if anything sticks out.
“ ... So we still need to make sure that he has competition, and it’s part of -- we bring Yode (Awosika) back and we’ll still be looking at possibly another veteran to add, and you still have the draft,” Lions general manager Brad Holmes said earlier this month about the guard situation.
“Look, I’m not saying it’s always going to be in the sixth round where we got Mahogany, but you just never know when we’re going to be able to get one of those guys.”
