Detroit Lions sign WR/RET Maurice Alexander, waive/injured RB Greg Bell

The Detroit Lions made a roster move ahead of Wednesday’s practice waiving injured running back Greg Bell and signing wide receiver/returner Maurice Alexander, who recently found success in the USFL.

Alexander played his college ball at Florida International where he was a four year contributor at wide receiver and two-year contributor as a returner (both punts and kicks). After going undrafted in 2020, Alexander, like many during this COVID-19 time period, struggled to latch onto an NFL team, but he got his opportunity to return to football in 2022 via the USFL.

With the USFL’s Philadelphia Stars, Alexander racked up 234 receiving yards and two touchdowns, while also serving as the team’s kick and punt returner. He ranked first in the league with a kick return average of 31.5 yards and third with a 12.6 punt return average.

The Lions could use some depth at wide receiver after the retirement of Corey Sutton earlier this week. Detroit is also dealing with two injuries at the position as first-round draft pick Jameson Williams remains on the Non-Football Injury list and Quintez Cephus sits out with an injury suffered Monday. Thankfully, it appears Cephus’ injury is relatively minor, as Dan Campbell said the team expects him to miss just “a short period of time.”

Bell injured his hip/back early in Lions’ 2022 training camp in what looked like a troubling injury. After getting further medical exams it appears he won’t be available to play for some time, and the Lions released him with a waived/injured designation.

This designation is significant because if Bell clears waivers, he will revert back to the Lions roster and be placed on injured reserve. At that point, the Lions can choose to keep him on IR for the remainder of the season (essentially redshirting him and keeping his UDFA contract intact) or release him with an injury settlement and allow him to enter free agency.