Detroit Lions promote LB Anthony Pittman to active roster

The Detroit Lions finally filled their extra spot on the 53-man roster Friday afternoon. The team announced that undrafted rookie Anthony Pittman has been promoted to the active 53-man roster after spending nearly the entire season on the team’s practice squad.

The Lions could use the extra bodies at linebacker given their current injury situation. Jarrad Davis, Christian Jones and Jahlani Tavai have all been placed on injured reserve this month and reserve linebacker Steve Longa is currently dealing with a quad injury that could put his availability into question for Sunday’s finale against the Green Bay Packers.

Pittman, a local Wayne State University alumni, is a 6-foot-3, 240 player that could fill in a special teams role on Sunday. During his Friday press conference, Lions head coach Matt Patricia expressed his confidence in Pittman stepping in, should the team need him.

“He’s a guy that has shown us he’s ready to go in the special teams category,” Patricia said. “He’s able to take on some of those challenges and be, maybe, a matchup type of player that can do some different things.”

At Wayne State, Pittman had 11.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, and one pass defended in his final year, earning himself All-GLIAC First Team for the second straight season. In the Lions’ four preseason games, Pittman had 14 tackles.

Patricia also noted that while A’Shawn Robinson will not practice again on Friday, the team is not placing him on injured reserve, keeping open the possibility that he could play on Sunday.