Lions To Sign Danny Shelton

The Lions have agreed to sign former Patriots defensive lineman Danny Shelton, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). It’ll be a two-year deal worth $8MM, agent Drew Rosenhaus tells Schefter.

Shelton hooked on with Rosenhaus in February, just weeks before entering unrestricted free agency. Last year, he sat on the market for a few months before re-signing with the Patriots on a one-year deal. This time around, he’s found his deal much sooner.

A better run defender than pass rusher, the 6’2″, 345-pound Shelton took on a key role for the Pats last year. He played in every regular season game and started in 14 of those contests. Overall he played around 49 percent of the defensive snaps for one of the league’s best defenses. With the Lions, he figures to serve as a key rotational piece on the interior.

The Washington product was drafted 12th overall by the Browns back in 2015. He became an instant starter in Cleveland but never quite lived up to his draft status, and was shipped to New England along with a fifth-rounder in exchange for a third-round pick before the 2018 season.

He had three sacks coming up the middle last year, and this continues a trend of Detroit and Matt Patricia picking up former Pats players after they also signed linebacker Jamie Collins earlier this week.