Lions Claiming Safety 'Ended Up Being Big For Us'

The Detroit Lions secondary answered questions for general manager Brad Holmes.

The Detroit Lions secondary had a significant amount of question marks heading into the offseason. 

With injuries to Jeff Okudah and Jerry Jacobs impacting the cornerback unit, the safety position was also pretty bare.

The team was negotiating to bring back Tracy Walker and also needed to add depth and competition, if the play of the safety unit was going to be elevated at training camp.  

One waiver claim on a safety the Lions made in early January went largely under the radar, according to general manager Brad Holmes. 

“I would say our secondary was one that -- going into camp we -- let’s just be honest, it was a lot of question marks back there," he said. "Whether it was lack of experience, lack of playing time, guys that had some elements dealing with. I’ll say even starting off at safety, it was pretty bare at the end of the season in terms of, not at the end of the season but starting the offseason. Hopefully you can sign Tracy (Walker) back and what are you going to do on the next? We had to kind of collect as much competition as possible and there were moves made along the way. Even doing like a late claim on JuJu Hughes." 

Holmes continued, "I don’t think a whole lot of noise was made about that. But that move ended up being big for us down the road."

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Hughes played collegiately at Fresno State. He ended up signing with the Rams in 2020 after not being drafted. 

In the NFL, he ended up performing quite well on special teams for the Rams, but had limited reps at free safety.

After his play in the preseason and earning a spot on the 53-man roster, the team has elevated expectations that Hughes can execute well in a reserve role behind Walker and veteran DeShon Elliott.