Lions Part Ways With Former Starting Safety in Abrupt Roster Move
The Detroit Lions were forced to turn to a group of little-known defensive backs to lead their secondary amid a flurry of injuries this season, with the group even earning the nickname “Legion of Whom” for their relative anonymity in the NFL.
But the Lions have started to get some key players back, and one of the fill-in defensive backs is looking for a new home. The team announced that safety Erick Hallett had been released from the active roster, making way for some returning players.
The release came just hours before the Lions kicked off against the New York Giants in a game with big playoff implications.
Former Sixth-Round Pick Saw First NFL Action This Season
Hallett came into the NFL as a sixth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2023, but got his first NFL experience this year when he appeared in two games for the Lions with one start. He made a total of eight tackles in that time, with opposing quarterbacks targeting him nine times and completing six of those passes for 75 yards.
Hallett came up big in a win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, part of a group that drew praise from defensive coordinator Kelvin Shappard.
“The ‘Legion of Whom,’ they introduced themselves to the NFL,” Sheppard said, via MLive.com. “I stood up here before y’all on that Thursday and told y’all it was an opportunity. It was an opportunity for those guys to introduce themselves to the NFL and to the world. There’s nothing better than clicking on Instagram and seeing a hundred articles talking about Nick Whiteside. That is unbelievable. A guy that was in the UFL probably thought, honestly — because when you’re in those cleats, man — ‘This is the end of the road for me’ or ‘Oh, I get a practice-squad spot.’ They’re grateful for those moments.”
Sheppard added that the group of fill-ins did well stopping Tampa’s strong passing game, and mentioned Hallett by name when praising the group.
“For them to not only get that opportunity but make the most of it — Erick Hallett, Art Maulet, Tyrus Wheat — the names go on and on of guys who went out and not only played and held the line, but put some pressure on some of our starters,” he said.
The Lions can still bring Hallett back to the practice squad, where he started this season before earning a call-up to the active roster in October.
Lions Get Back on Track With Big Win
The Lions jumped back to the top of the NFC North with a gritty win over the Giants on Sunday, battling back after trailing for the majority of the game and winning 34-27 in overtime.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell said the team took some calculated risks and were lucky to see things fall their way. The Giants also rolled the dice, including a fourth-down attempt when they could have kicked a field goal to extend their lead to six points late in the game, but saw it backfire on them.
“That very easily — a number of times — could’ve gone the other way, but it didn’t,” Campbell said. “We made the plays we had to make.”
Cowboys LB DeMarvion Overshown Addresses Tragedy: ‘We Will Never Move On’
In a perfect world, all Dallas Cowboys inside linebacker DeMarvion Overshown would be talking about before his long awaited return would be how he’s come back from a second catastrophic knee injury in 3 years.
It’s not a perfect world, however, and Overshown didn’t mince words talking to the media on Friday, November 14, as he addressed what was top of mind and weighing on his heart — last week’s tragic suicide of 24-year-old Cowboys edge rusher Marshawn Kneeland.
The Cowboys play for the first time since Kneeland’s death on November 6 when they travel to face the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday Night Football in Week 11.
It will be Overshown’s first game back since tearing his ACL, PCL and MCL in Week 14 of the 2024 regular season.
“A brother, a teammate, and a great human, man … This is something that we we will never move on from,” Overshown told The Athletic’s Jon Machota. “This is something that we won’t just wake up tomorrow, and then everything is gonna be OK. … But it is one of those things where we got to pick it up and we got to move forward, and we got to keep Marshawn’s legacy alive. And that was smiling every day, enjoying the grit and the hard work that comes with this. That’s playing with the passion when we get out there with our brothers. And most importantly, that’s doing it the Marshawn Kneeland way, and that’s having fun while doing it. … We will keep his legacy alive, that’s for sure.”
Texas authorities said that after a brief car pursuit on Wednesday, November 5, ended at the Cowboys’ practice facility around 10:30 p.m., Kneeland exited his vehicle and fled on foot.
Three hours later, the police used drones to be able to identify Kneeland’s body in a portable restroom after he’d died of what was later determined to be a self inflicted gunshot wound.
Overshown Coming Back From Another Knee Injury
Overshown was at the end of of a breakout season in 2024 when he was hurt, with 90 tackles, 5.0 sacks, 8 TFL, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 4 pass deflections and one interception returned for a touchdown through 13 games.
It was his second consecutive season with a season-ending knee injury after tearing his ACL in the 2023 preseason, and while he will play Monday he will be on something of a “pitch count” according to Machota.
He’s actually ahead of schedule in his return, with the Thanksgiving Day game against the Kansas City Chiefs his initial targeted return.
“We talked about it, and that’s what you want to do coming off of any injury, especially for a guy that hasn’t played in 300 some days, just ramping them up and getting to it, Overshown said. “But we already know, man, it’s winning football time. So when the time comes, when the situation comes, if I’m at that play count or that limit, we already have made the conversation where, look, it’s a play that needs to be made, I got to be on the field.”
Cowboys Will Honor Kneeland With Helmet Decal
With the Cowboys on a bye in Week 10, NFL teams honored Kneeland with a moment of silence before their games. The Cowboys will wear a special helmet decal the rest of the season to honor Kneeland, as well as specially made warm up shirts before each of their next 2 games.
