Lions sign veteran tackle Tony Hills in wake of Taylor Decker injury

The Detroit Lions were left to scramble for answers after Tuesday’s bombshell that Lions starting left tackle Taylor Decker underwent shoulder surgery and may miss part, if not all, of the 2017 season. While the Lions explore options internally, they have also started to look outside the organization for potential solutions. To that, the team signed veteran tackle Tony Hills on Thursday:

Unfortunately, Hills is not the ironclad answer to the Decker question, but someone who can potentially compete in camp for a roster position. Hills, who entered the league in 2008, has played for 11 different teams now including the Lions, but has only one career start to his name in the past nine years. He was last with the New Orleans Saints in 2016, where he saw significant time in Week 6 against Carolina, splitting snaps with Andrus Peat, while Terron Armstead was out due to injury.

Tony Hills has not earned a Pro Football Focus grade higher than 62 when playing at tackle. The highest rating he earned was 61.8, appearing in three games with the Dallas Cowboys in 2014.

To make room for Hills on the roster, the Lions also cut guard Connor Bozick. Bozick was signed by the team back in May.