The Lions just got a big roster perk from the NFL with rookie Ahmed Hassanein, and it changes everything

The Detroit Lions finally got their edge rusher when they took Boise State’s Ahmed Hassanein in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. 

Hassanein spent most of his life in Egypt until he moved to America around 2019. He became a solid football player and attended Boise State. On Friday, the NFL gave Hassanein an international exemption on its league transactions list.

At this time, there is some confusion as to how exactly Hassanein qualifies. He is not an International Pathways Player, which is usually where the exemption comes from. There is, however, a subsection of the rule that states if a player's primary residence is outside the U.S. or Canada and they have a maximum of two years of American high school, they qualify. 

The point of contention there is whether the rule states the primary residence is currently outside the U.S. and Canada or was outside the U.S. and Canada. We're currently awaiting clarification from the league on what exactly qualifies him. 

What that means in the grand scheme of things is that the Lions get a 91st roster spot during training camp, and that essentially opens up an additional roster spot for the Lions right now. 

It also means that if Hassanein were not to make the 53-man roster, the Lions would have a 17th practice squad spot for him during the regular season. That’s not likely to be a thing the Lions will have to worry about. This guy is making the 53-man roster. 

Still, that’s a big perk to have for the summer to be able to know you have the opening for one more guy. We’ll see what they decide to do with it.