When the Detroit Lions were rebuilding their roster in 2009 and 2010, a big part of how they added talent was through claiming players off waivers after they were released by other teams. Because the Lions were typically at the bottom of the NFL standings, they were near the top of the waiver priority list and were able to claim players they wanted off waivers without anybody really getting in the way.
Nowadays, the Lions luckily aren't in rebuilding mode, but they still look for guys on waivers who can come in during training camp and compete. One of the byproducts of actually winning is having a lower waiver priority, though. Twice this offseason they have tried to claim players off waivers only to have them be awarded to a team with a higher waiver priority. Last month, they reportedly tried to claim kicker Kai Forbath, and more recently, they tried to claim offensive tackle Kevin Murphy.
Awarded to the Vikings off waivers from the 49ers, tackle Kevin Murphy was also the subject of waiver claims from the Texans and Lions
— Aaron Wilson (@RavensInsider) May 16, 2012
Murphy is an undrafted free agent from Harvard. He actually visited the Lions in the lead-up to the draft, and after going undrafted, he signed with the San Francisco 49ers. He was released earlier this week, and now he is headed to Minnesota after being awarded to the Vikings.
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