The Detroit Lions and their fans are preparing for the offseason after seeing the Lions lose 45-31 to the Washington Commanders in the divisional round of the playoffs.
Detroit was considered one of the favorites to reach the Super Bowl, but the No. 1 seed in the NFC could not do so at home. Now, the Lions will look to pick up the pieces and try to figure out how to get back to the playoffs in 2025.
On Monday, Detroit began putting their 90-man roster together for the offseason, signing 11 players from the practice squad to reserve/future contracts. In addition to those signings, the Lions also re-signed safety Morice Norris.
The rookie cornerback could not sign a reserve/futures deal because of he was on the active roster, but would've been given an ERFA (exclusive rights free agent) designation.
The 24-year-old Norris surprisingly played 22 defensive snaps against the Commanders on Saturday night. Norris stepped in for Ifeatu Melifonwu, who suffered a hamstring injury and didn’t return.
The former Fresno State standout had three combined tackles, giving up two completions in his limited snaps. Before Saturday’s playoff game, the 5-foot-11 cornerback appeared exclusively on special teams in the Lions’ last two regular season games against the San Francisco 49ers and Minnesota Vikings.
Detroit signed Norris as an undrafted free agent following the 2024 NFL Draft. Norris went to training camp with the Lions but did not make it through preseason as he was initially waived with an injury and then placed on injured reserve in August.
However, not too long after, the Lions gave Norris an injury settlement. But Detroit re-signed Norris to the practice squad in late September and promoted him to the active roster in late December.
The rookie defensive back was waived on New Year’s Eve, but the Lions brought him back to the practice squad on Jan. 2 and signed him to the active roster two days later. Detroit will see if Norris improves from the limited playing time this season and becomes a solid depth option in the secondary for 2025.
