Lions Re-Sign CB Kindle Vildor

Lions bring back Kindle Vildor.

Jan 28, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; Detroit Lions cornerback Kindle Vildor (29) is unable to catch the ball against the San Francisco 49ers. / Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The Detroit Lions have re-signed cornerback Kindle Vildor.

On Wednesday, the Lions agreed to a new deal that will keep Vildor in Detroit on a one-year deal. Vildor has familiarity with new Lions' defensive back coach Deshea Townsend, who he played for while in Chicago from 2020-21.

"He has a skill-set that at least mentally and physically, you can see he has it," Townsend said of Vildor at the NFL Scouting Combine. "That's all you want from your guys. You want to have that ability to go out and not blink."

Vildor joined the Lions as a practice squad addition early in the 2023 season, but was eventually promoted to the active roster and wound up being a big part of the defense throughout the playoff run.

In total, the veteran played five regular season games with two starts. He started all three of the team's playoff games. Vildor also was on the negative end of one of the biggest plays in the Lions' NFC Championship loss to the 49ers, as a ball deflected off his helmet and into the hands of Brandon Aiyuk to shift the momentum of the game in the third quarter.

Detroit has spent a majority of its resources in free agency on upgrading the defense. In addition to a trade for Carlton Davis from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the organization has added cornerback Amik Robertson, defensive end Marcus Davenport and defensive lineman DJ Reader to help the production of Aaron Glenn's group.

Last season, the Lions really struggled defensively against the pass. The unit ranked second in the league in run defense, but struggled to get the perfect pairing of pass-rush in coverage and slow down opposing passers.

As the Lions roster begins to take shape, the organization has its sights set on finishing what they couldn't in 2023.

“We have the right core foundation, we know that, but we have to start back over from scratch. We can’t let anything slide," Campbell told FOX 2 at the NFL's annual meetings. "We can’t say, ‘Oh we know this guy, he’ll be okay.’ There is no okay. You’ve got to do it the same way you did it last year. You start over and you do all the little things the right way.”