Lions Shake Up Roster With Two Surprising Moves Before Week 1

With one day remaining until the Lions take on the New Orleans Saints, Detroit has continued to make moves.

Detroit already made one move by bringing Tom Kennedy up to the active roster, which guarantees his contract for the season. Honestly, I’m very happy about this. Kennedy has been with Detroit since 2019 and is one of the hardest-working players there is. No one deserves it more than him.

Detroit did make two more surprising moves. The first was the release of defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike. Onwuzurike was Detroit’s second-round pick in 2021. He has dealt with numerous injuries throughout his career, including a back injury that kept him out for the entire 2025 season.

There is some speculation that this could be a case of roster gymnastics. If Onwuzurike remained on the active roster for Week 1, his contract would become fully guaranteed for the season. Considering his injury history, it makes sense that the Lions would be hesitant to give him a fully guaranteed contract.

Detroit did end up bringing Onwuzurike back to the practice squad and elevated defensive tackle Ben Stille from the practice squad to the active/inactive list.

The second move came as a bit of a shock as well, with Detroit releasing Tyre West from the practice squad. West was Detroit’s seventh-round pick in this year’s draft, but it appears the Lions did not see enough from him to keep him around. This release does allow an extra practice squad spot open for Onwuzurike.

Another non-Lions move that could have an impact on Detroit was the Green Bay Packers signing tight end Tucker Kraft to a four-year, $75 million extension worth up to $92 million, including a $26.5 million signing bonus.

Why is this important to Detroit? The Lions are still looking to re-sign Sam LaPorta, and Kraft’s new contract will certainly drive LaPorta’s price up. It would not be surprising to see LaPorta land in the $20 million-per-year range.

The Lions recently restructured the contracts of wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and left tackle Penei Sewell, creating more than $30 million in salary-cap space. More than likely, this space is being created with future contracts for Brian Branch and LaPorta in mind.

There is a chance Detroit could be plotting a move before the season gets underway, but for now, the Lions have bigger things to worry about.

Detroit will have to focus on the Saints tomorrow as it looks to start the season 1-0.