Lions sign DE Jacquies Smith, place Tim Lelito on IR

The Detroit Lions made a minor roster move on Monday evening. The team re-signed defensive end Jacquies Smith and placed offensive lineman Tim Lelito on reserve-injured.

Smith comes back to the team just two days after being released. He was let go on Saturday when the Lions needed to make a roster move to make room for punter Sam Martin, who made his 2017 debut against the Steelers.

The Lions added Jacquies Smith during their bye week to help out their struggling pass rush. Back during his time with the Buccaneers, Smith picked up 13.5 sacks over two seasons. However, it appears the Lions weren’t prepared to make him active during a game, and decided to go with Jeremiah Valoaga and Cornelius Washington as their rotational players on Sunday.

Lelito was placed on IR after suffering a thigh injury against the Steelers. Against the Saints, Lelito was used as a relief guard once Emmett Cleary went down with an injury. Because T.J. Lang was back in the starting lineup this week, Lelito was demoted to special teams duty, but suffered the injury during one of his six special teams snaps against the Steelers.

That leaves Detroit very thin at offensive guard right now. Lelito joins fellow offensive guards Joe Dahl and Zac Kerin on injured reserve, while the only two healthy guards on the 53-man roster are Lang and Graham Glasgow. Cleary could return as a backup guard, but he’s still dealing with an ankle injury and his natural position is tackle.

We’ll see if the Lions make a move for an offensive lineman later in the week. One option could be Brandon Thomas, who the Lions traded for last year and has spent time on and off the roster. He currently resides on the Jaguars practice squad, but Detroit could potentially poach him and add them to their 53-man roster.