One of the Detroit Lions' free agents who hasn't been re-signed yet is linebacker Isaiah Ekejiuba. He is a special teams ace and spent most of 2011 on injured reserve. There hasn't been much talk about whether or not the Lions will re-sign him, but it appears they may have to act fast if they want to bring him back. Aaron Wilson reports that a few teams are interested in adding Ekejiuba.
Hearing the Ravens are interested in adding linebacker and special-teams ace Isaiah Ekejiuba Also drawing interest from the Rams and Cowboys
— Aaron Wilson (@RavensInsider) March 22, 2012
Right now, the Lions have linebackers Justin Durant, Stephen Tulloch, Doug Hogue and Ashlee Palmer under contract. DeAndre Levy has been tendered as a restricted free agent and Slade Norris is on the roster with a futures deal. Assuming Levy signs his tender, the Lions really have room for one more linebacker on the roster (to legitimately compete for a spot on the team). Although they did keep seven on the 53-man roster initially last year, the thinking is they might go with only six this year to give Hogue more of a chance to play.
Assuming the Lions do only add one more linebacker, it appears the final spot could come down to Ekejiuba and someone like Tim Shaw, who visited on Monday and is also an excellent special teams player. I suppose Bobby Carpenter is also still in the mix, but if the Lions are looking for special teams help, it would make sense to go with Ekejiuba or Shaw.
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