ALLEN PARK — Welcome back, Ahmed Hassanein.
The Detroit Lions on Monday signed Hassanein to their practice squad, about 10 weeks after they initially waived the defensive end with an injury settlement in August. Hassanein, a rookie selected by the Lions in the sixth round of April’s draft, suffered a pectoral injury during a preseason game against the Miami Dolphins on Aug. 16. Rather than using one of their limited injured reserve-to-return spots (teams only have eight per season), the Lions removed Hassanein from the roster, with the desire to bring him back after the settlement’s expiration.
It was a moderate risk, given that all 31 other teams in the NFL would have a chance to not only claim Hassanein, but also sign him when he became healthy. General manager Brad Holmes, however, was confident Hassanein would be back with the Lions. He turned out to be correct.
Hassanein spent four seasons at Boise State, helping the Broncos to their first appearance in the College Football Playoff as an FBS team. He starred across his junior and senior campaigns, combining for 22 sacks and 115 pressures over 28 contests.
During his three appearances with the Lions in the preseason, Hassanein played 43 defensive snaps and totaled five tackles, including three run stops against the Los Angeles Chargers in the Hall of Fame Game. Hassanein also received 25 reps on special teams.
Hassanein was widely viewed as a raw prospect coming out of college, hence his fall to the draft’s later rounds despite impressive production at Boise State. With Aidan Hutchinson, Al-Quadin Muhammad and Tyler Lacy on the edge, and Marcus Davenport and Josh Paschal expected back at some point, it’s difficult to see Hassanein seeing much opportunity in his first professional season. Still, he’ll benefit from being in the building, and the Lions can develop him for the future.