The Detroit Lions have filled their final remaining spot on the active roster. The team announced on September 11 that they signed defensive tackle Kyle Peko from the practice squad to the active roster.
The Lions also announced that they officially signed kicker Greg Joseph and defensive lineman Chris Smith to the practice squad.
Although he is just joining the team’s active roster, Peko has already made his 2024 regular season debut. Peko started in Week 1 for the Lions after the team elevated him from the practice squad.
In 37 defensive snaps against the Los Angeles Rams, he posted 1 combined tackle, 1 tackle for loss and 1 quarterback hit.
Peko played for Lions first-year defensive line coach Terrell Williams with the Tennessee Titans during the 2021 and 2023 seasons. In 2022, Peko played for the Las Vegas Raiders.
He began his career as an undrafted free agent for the Denver Broncos. He played nine games for the Broncos from 2016-19. Peko also appeared in four contests for the Buffalo Bills in 2019.
SB Nation’s Mile High Report’s Scotty Payne described Peko as “an athletic big man” when the Broncos signed Peko following the 2016 NFL draft.
“His lateral quickness is evident on tape. He’s an athletic big man who shows surprisingly good chase and tackle skills,” Payne wrote. “He also showed a good spin move on film.
“He has a good motor and will leave it all on the field.”
“He also has bloodlines on his side. Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Domata Peko is Kyle Peko’s cousin.”
Lions Sign Kyle Peko as D.J. Reader Appears Set to Return
The Lions elevated Peko from the practice squad to help replace D.J. Reader on September 8. The team removed the veteran defensive tackle from the PUP list on August 25, but he missed Week 1. Reader is still recovering from a quad injury he sustained in December last season.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell told reporters Reader will make his season debut in Week 2 “providing there’s no setbacks” with his injury.
Even still, the Lions found it necessary to add Peko to the active roster. He should provide valuable interior defensive line depth and ensure Reader isn’t pushed with too many snaps in his first 2024 action.
“The Lions like to take things slow when returning players from long-term injuries,” wrote SB Nation’s Pride of Detroit’s Erik Schlitt. “If Reader plays as expected, he likely wouldn’t play a full complement of snaps, so Peko will be relied upon to supplement defensive snaps in Week 2 and possibly beyond.”
Last season, Peko posted 22 combined tackles, including 2 tackles for loss and 2 quarterback hits in 13 games. He started 10 of those contests for the Titans.
Peko set new career highs with all of those statistics, including 342 defensive snaps played.
Lions Sign Kicker Greg Joseph, DL Chris Smith
Detroit debuted new kicker Jake Bates in Week 1. He made both his field goal attempts and went 2-for-2 on extra-point tries.
But the Lions still added Joseph, who has a lot of NFL kicking experience, on the practice squad. Joseph has appeared in 67 NFL games for the Cleveland Browns, Tennessee Titans and Minnesota Vikings.
Over the past three seasons in Minnesota, Joseph made 82.2% of his field goals. He went 24-for-30 (80%) on field goals and 36-for-38 (94.7%) on extra points in 17 games during 2023.
Despite Bates’ success in Week 1, it’s not shocking the Lions added a veteran kicker. Lions general manager Brad Holmes told reporters at the end of the preseason that he intended to sign another kicker.
In a final roster move on September 11, the Lions re-signed Smith to their practice squad. Smith was previously on the team’s practice squad, but the Lions signed Smith to the active roster ahead of Week 1.
Smith played 8 defensive snaps against the Rams. He posted 1 tackle assist.
