Detroit Lions trade CB Michael Jackson to Patriots

Earlier on Sunday, the Detroit Lions announced that they had waived six players in order to get their active roster down to 80 players. Among those players was cornerback Michael Jackson—a depth player who played in just one game last year.

However, eight hours later, the Lions announced that they had actually traded Jackson to the New England Patriots instead. The Lions didn’t release the exact terms of the trade, only announcing that they will receive an undisclosed 2022 draft selection. At this point, it’s unclear if that draft pick comes with conditions or not.

UPDATE: According to the NFL transaction wire, the Lions are receiving a 2022 conditional seventh-round pick.

It’s obviously a bit odd for a team to announce that they’ve both waived and traded a player in the same day, but oftentimes teams leak that they’re intending on waiving a player early in the day to get trade offers. The transaction isn’t official until it hits the wire at 4 p.m. ET, so the Patriots obviously saw the opportunity to swoop in and get Jackson without having to fight for him on the waiver wire.