Detroit Lions Sign Aaron Francisco, Waive/Injured Randy Phillips

The Detroit Lions have made a change at safety, signing Aaron Francisco and waiving/injured Randy Phillips. The move was announced on Wednesday afternoon.

Francisco entered the league as an undrafted free agent from BYU in 2005. He signed with the Arizona Cardinals and appeared in 11 games during his rookie season.  He went on to appear in all 16 games in 2006 and 2008 and 10 games in 2007. Over that time he made nine total starts.

After leaving Arizona, Francisco joined the Indianapolis Colts. He played in Indy for the last two seasons and started in 12 games last year. He started in only two and appeared in only 10 in 2009.

Even though Phillips has been dealing with a shoulder injury, it is a bit surprising that he has been waived/injured. He joined the Lions as an undrafted free agent last year and looked very good during the preseason. He ended up appearing in four games for the Lions in 2010 and spent the rest of his time on the practice squad.

Because he was waived/injured, the Lions could place Phillips on injured reserve if he clears waivers. They could also simply release him, which is what they did with cornerback Maurice Leggett and offensive guard Jeff Maddux.