No NFL team is more banged up on the defensive side of the ball than the Detroit Lions, who lost Alim McNeil (torn ACL), Carlton Davis (broken jaw), and Khalil Dorsey (fractured ankle) during Sunday night's loss to the Buffalo Bills at Ford Field.
The Lions were already without Aidan Hutchinson (broken tibia), Marcus Davenport (tricep injury), and linebacker Alex Anzalone (broken arm). But their newest signing they made on Monday to help offset some of the monumental absences will be a familiar name to fans.
Detroit has signed linebacker Anthony Pittman off the practice squad of the Jacksonville Jaguars, reuniting him with several of his former teammates.
It's his second tenure with the Lions, who play the Chicago Bears in the Windy City on Sunday. Despite the notable absences from their lineup, quarterback Jared Goff insists that the sky isn't falling, per Yahoo Sports.
“We’ll be just fine,” Goff said after the loss to the Bills. “I’m sure there will be a ton of stuff written about the sky falling, but no, internally, we’re good. Yeah, we had won how many in a row up to that point, but it sucks to lose.”
The Lions take on the Chicago Bears Sunday at Soldier Field.
Anthony Pittman is now in his second tenure with the Lions
A native of Detroit, Pittman attended Birmingham Groves High School in Beverly Hills, Michigan. He later attended Wayne State University, where he played from 2014 to 2018.
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Despite not being selected in the 2018 NFL Draft, Pittman signed with the Lions. He was waived several times, but played in all 17 regular season games in the 2022 and 2023 seasons; he also appeared in all three of Detroit's postseason games earlier this winter.
In March of this year, he signed with the Washington Commanders but was released. He later agreed to join the practice squad of the Jacksonville Jaguars but was also released.
In his NFL career, he's racked up 28 tackles along with a single pass deflection and forced fumble.
