The Detroit Lions added a talented defender to their roster early in the offseason in Mathieu Betts.
The reigning CFL Most Outstanding Defensive Player signed a free agent contract with the Lions earlier in the week and will compete for a roster spot heading into the 2024 season.
Betts has had one previous NFL shot, signing as an undrafted free agent with the Chicago Bears in 2019. After being unable to crack the final roster out of training camp, he took his talents to the CFL where he was able to carve out a solid career.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to be able to compete and to try to make that roster and I feel like I have a really good chance of doing it,” Betts said, via 3DownNation. “Especially in the NFL, that’s the roster we were the most confident that I could that crack. It was the first workout that I had this off-season and the chemistry, the energy, the discussions I’ve had with the staff there just felt right.”
According to Hodge, Betts had other NFL opportunities that offered guaranteed money but elected to bypass those and sign with Detroit.
Betts visited and worked out for the team in December and felt comfortable with the connection. After negotiating the contract through the early part of the offseason, he feels as though he'll be a good fit for Detroit's defense.
“They saw my strength on film and that’s something that they really liked, that fit their team in terms of working hard," Betts said. "The one thing they told me that popped off film is they saw somebody that was working hard and after they got that box checked, then they started looking at different athletic capacities and football capacities.”
Here is a collection of storylines surrounding the Detroit Lions on Thursday, Feb. 15.
- Former Lions quarterback David Blough has joined the Washington Commanders' coaching staff as the assistant quarterbacks coach. Blough started five games for Detroit from 2019-21 and spent last year on the practice squad.
- NFL analysts Boomer Esiason and Andrew Whitworth explained what a potential Jared Goff extension could look like to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.
- The Ringer's Benjamin Solak conducted a mock draft, in which the Lions selected Clemson cornerback Nate Wiggins with the 29th overall pick.
- Amon-Ra St. Brown revealed on his latest podcast that he was also not aware of the new overtime playoff rules.
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