Detroit Lions elevate S Brady Breeze, place Obinna Eze on IR

Per usual, the Detroit Lions have made a couple of roster moves on Saturday in preparation for their Sunday game against the Chicago Bears. The team announced that practice squad safety Brady Breeze has been temporarily elevated for Week 17, while undrafted rookie tackle Obinna Eze has been placed on the practice squad injured reserve list.

Breeze’s elevation gives the Lions some needed depth at the safety position after the Lions declared starter DeShon Elliott out with a shoulder injury for the second straight week. Breeze was elevated for the first time last week and ended up playing in 19 special teams snaps against the Panthers. Expect a similar role for Breeze this week, with Kerby Joseph and Ifeatu Melifonwu expected to hold down starter roles again this week.

As for Eze, his rookie season will end without making an appearance on the 53-man roster. The “Hard Knocks” star was always considered a long-term project, but it will be interesting to see if the Lions end up giving Eze a futures contract when his practice squad contract expires at the end of Detroit’s season. It’s quite possible the Lions placed him on practice squad IR to protect him from being poached by another team in the final couple weeks of the regular season, which would indicate he’s likely a shoo-in to be re-signed after the 2022 season is over.

Eze looked raw in training camp, but the 24-year-old Nigerian native is still relatively new to the game of football. But his physical tools—36 1/8-inch arms and 7-foot-1+ wingspan— make him an intriguing project.