ALLEN PARK -- Ahmed Hassanein spent the last two-plus months driving by the Detroit Lions practice facility, wishing he could go inside.
Hassanein, the team’s sixth-round pick back in April, was waived with an injury settlement coming out of training camp. The Lions were confident Hassanein would be back with them when it was all said and done, and they were right about that.
The rookie edge defender signed with the team’s practice squad earlier this week, with his pectoral injury healed and his settlement period complete.
Hassanein said his agent told him there were calls from the 31 other teams trying to get him to join their practice squad. But it was always about Detroit and getting back in the building with the coaches, football executives and teammates who believe in him from the beginning.
“I’m a loyal guy, and this team picked me for a reason,” Hassanein said. “And I truly feel like this is the best team for me. And this team means everything to me, you know, and because when somebody picks me, I’m a loyal guy, man. I stick with them, and I don’t want to leave.
“And I was talking to my agent and he was telling me, like, ‘Oh, yeah, 31 (teams) called and just asking about you, and I was like, ‘Man, I am not going anywhere.’ I’m staying here because this is where I want to be, and this team believes in me, and I love them, you know, and I’m not going anywhere.”
Hassanein said he got cleared in Week 7, then had to wait an extra three weeks due to the injury settlement. He suffered a pectoral injury late in the preseason, forcing general manager Brad Holmes to make the tough call to waive him with a settlement.
Holmes was adamant in his belief that Hassanein would be back on the field for the Lions this year, though. And it’s clear that feeling was very mutual.
“I just stayed here. I drove every day, and I saw the facility, and I was like, ‘Man, I really want to go in there and say hi,’” Hassanein said. “But it was tough, but I’m just grateful for it to be here and finally to have a locker, you know, I’m really grateful for that. To have a number, to go in and get treatment, to have tubs, to have meals ready, to have shakes, to have vitamins. All of that I’m grateful for.
“I really want to be the best version of myself and just do everything that I can do to help this team.”
Hassanein comes with an international exemption, meaning the Lions were granted an extra practice squad spot to bring him back into the fold.
The rookie edge defender was one of Holmes’ developmental late-round picks. Hassanein, the first Egyptian player to get drafted, has proven himself as a quick learner in more ways than one.
On the field in training camp and the preseason, his high motor and attempts to ask anyone on the defensive side of the ball about what he could do to improve stuck out like a sore thumb. His ability to learn on the fly is evident off the field, too, as he started playing football in 2019 while re-learning English after moving to the United States in 2019.
His play continued to get better and better while at Boise State, as well. Through his last two seasons in college, he posted 22 sacks and 32 tackles for loss, putting himself on NFL radars as someone to watch.
Hassanein was back at practice on Wednesday, and he couldn’t help but smile and call it a blessing after nearly three months of being away from the Lions.
The rookie will need some time to get his feet back under him. He was always viewed as a developmental option, but his ascent before the season makes him one to watch as a potential depth-boosting addition.
“It meant everything, man, “Hassanein said. “It was like, me back on the field, and I just took a deep breath and I was just like, man, it’s such a blessing to be practicing again, to be able to strike a sled, to be able to just to be moving again and just have teammates again and see the new team, see them do the same thing, and just like, man, ‘Oh, I want to get better at this. Oh, I want to do this move now.’
“I’m super grateful to be out there. And I prayed, and I was like, man, ‘God, thank you for allowing me the opportunity to be back on that field. This means everything to me, and I’m not never, ever going to take it for granted again. It’s a blessing ... I’m gonna attack every single day like it’s my last day.”
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our [User Agreement](https://www.advancelocal.com/advancelocalUserAgreement/user-agreement.html) and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our [Privacy Policy.](https://www.advancelocal.com/advancelocalUserAgreement/privacy-policy.html)