The Detroit Lions added depth to their injury-riddled secondary Wednesday, Dec. 10, claiming Jalen Mills off waivers from the Houston Texans.
Mills, 31, appeared in four games and made one start for the Texans’ top-ranked defense this season.
He joins a Lions‘ defense that’s shuffled starters in its secondary all year and will play the rest of the season without starting safety Brian Branch and second-year cornerback Terrion Arnold. Branch recently underwent surgery for his torn Achilles tendon, and Arnold posted on social media he will undergo shoulder surgery Thursday.
Pro Bowl safety Kerby Joseph hasn’t played in two months because of knee pain, but practiced Wednesday and could return for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams.
Backup safety Thomas Harper was limited in practice Wednesday in his return from a brain injury.
Mills is on his fourth team in three seasons after starting his NFL career with the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Lions (8-5) waived tight end Hayden Rucci to make room for Mills, leaving them with just one tight end – Anthony Firkser – on their 53-man roster. They could activate tight end Shane Zylstra off injured reserve to add depth at the position this week.
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions make roster move to address injury-riddled secondary
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