There’s a new linebacker in the Motor City: Grant Stuard.
According to [NFL reporter Aaron Wilson](https://x.com/AaronWilson_NFL/status/1899918422592356771), the fourth-year veteran has agreed to a one-year deal with the Detroit Lions. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.
With the Lions parting ways with linebacker and special teams All-Pro Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Stuard — a standout in that phase of the game — fills a much-needed void.
Last season was a breakout year for Stuard. Playing all 17 games, including five starts, he finished with 40 tackles — two for a loss — across 229 defensive snaps.
Of those 40 tackles, 19 came in a Week 7 win over the Miami Dolphins, a game in which he also forced a fumble.
On special teams, Stuard logged 342 snaps in 2023. In 2022, he led the Indianapolis Colts in special teams tackles and ranked in the top two for the team’s most snaps in that unit in each of the last three seasons.
A two-time All-AAC selection at Houston, Stuard was the final pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, earning the title of “Mr. Irrelevant.” He spent his rookie season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before joining the Colts in 2022.
Stuard is the second external free-agent signing for the Lions this offseason.
On Monday, Detroit landed former New York Jets cornerback D.J. Reed on a three-year, $48 million deal after former starter Carlton Davis left for a lucrative contract with the New England Patriots.