Detroit Lions Sign Former Texans LB Damone Clark

The Detroit Lions have made yet another addition to their defense.

On Wednesday, the Lions signed veteran linebacker Damone Clark. Terms of the deal were not immediately reported.

Entering the league as a fifth-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys in 2022, Clark has played four NFL seasons. He has made 55 appearances with 26 starts over that time. He also played collegiately at LSU, and overlapped for a year with current Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard while Sheppard was on the coaching staff for a year.

"I've always knew about Shep obviously playing at LSU, and him being one of the best linebackers to come through LSU," Clark explained. "We were able to overlap in 2020, he was more on the player development side. He still was — he played ball in the league, so he was a guy that would give us coaching points. He wasn't the linebackers coach, but he still went outside of his job to help with the linebackers."

Clark is eager to reunite with Sheppard, but knows that the team will need his absolute best effort as he looks to make a strong impression on his new coach.

"Over the years playing against Detroit when I was in Dallas, talking to him after the game and staying in contact with each other. It's more than just football," Clark said. "It's a brotherhood, and obviously talking to him today, at the end of the day he has a job to do and I have a job to do. It doesn't matter about the relationship, it's a business and at the end of the day I have to put my best foot forward and he has to put his best foot forward."

Last year, Clark was predominantly a special teams contributor. Between his time with the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans, he played a total of 102 defensive snaps and 269 special teams snaps.

Clark could step into a role the Lions have that was vacated by Grant Stuard, who signed with the Los Angeles Rams earlier in free agency. Stuard was a core special teamer who played on all the Lions’ special teams units, and Clark profiles as an addition who could have a similar impact for Detroit in 2026.

Detroit lost a huge part of its defense earlier in free agency when captain Alex Anzalone signed a two-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, the team does return two starters at linebacker in Jack Campbell and Derrick Barnes, and also re-signed Malcolm Rodriguez to a one-year deal.

As a rookie, Clark appeared in 10 games with five starts. He transitioned into an every down starter the following year, as he started in all 17 games  for the Cowboys. That year, he totaled 109 combined tackles with four tackles for loss, three passes defensed and one fumble recovery.