The Detroit Lions are moving on from versatile defensive back Erick Hallett II, according to a report from KRPC2’s Aaron Wilson.
The former sixth-round pick out of Pittsburgh spent the majority of his first season on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ practice squad, but was waived ahead of the 2024 season.
The Lions swooped in and signed Hallett to their practice squad two days later and signed him to a reserve/future contract at the end of the last season.
Detroit has thinned out its secondary early in the cutting process on Monday, with cornerback Nick Whiteside and safety Ian Kennelly already reportedly being cut as well.
Hallett seemed likely to get in the mix after proving his ability to handle safety, nickelback and outside cornerback throughout preseason.
That versatility was an important piece of what the Lions said they were looking for in the battle for the last safety spot behind starters Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch and flexible veteran Avonte Maddox.
“I think, for us, No. 1 is versatility,” safeties coach Jim O’Neill said in May. “In an ideal world -- you’re not going to get a backup safety that can do all the things that Kerby and Brian Branch can do, but somebody who can play in the deep part of the field, somebody who can get down in the box and be physical and tackle in the run game (is what we’re looking for).
“And then for us, where we’re different with what Brian gives us is the ability to play man coverage on tight ends and receivers, which is really, really rare. That’s a hard skill set to find, but we’re going to ask our guys all through OTAs, training camp and in the preseason games, we’re going to ask our safeties to play man-to-man coverage on slot receivers, and we’re going to see how they do.”
Hallett had a solid showing throughout preseason playing 140 defensive snaps and 17 on special teams in four games. His 91.1 Pro Football Focus defensive grade against the Miami Dolphins was the best individual defensive performance in preseason according to the analytics website.
Check out MLive’s full Detroit Lions roster-cut tracker here
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