HEADLINES

Jalen Reeves-Maybin

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/19/24

December 19th, 2024 at 8:05pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Los Angeles Chargers

While the Lions navigate a long list of injuries to their defense, the team did get some good news today, as linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin returned to practice. The 29-year-old suffered a neck injury in early November that required a stint on IR. While there seemed to be some initial pessimism surrounding the injury, the veteran will now have a chance to return for the stretch run of the season.

A former fourth-round pick, Reeves-Maybin spent the first five seasons of his career in Detroit before a one-year stay in Houston. He’s spent the past two seasons back in Detroit, including a 2023 campaign where he earned a Pro Bowl nod for his special teams prowess. He’s continued to serve an important ST role in 2024, but he also saw time in 111 defensive snaps in eight games. That represented his highest defensive snap count since the 2021 campaign.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/9/24

November 9th, 2024 at 9:11pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s minor moves, including standard gameday practice squad elevations:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

  • Elevated: LB Curtis Bolton, WR Isaiah Hodgins

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Spector will miss at least the next four games as a result of the Bills’ move. He has remained a mainstay on special teams this year, having also done so in 2022 and ’23. The former seventh-rounder has made three starts on defense, however, so his absence will be felt moving forward. Linebacker has been a position hit hard by injuries this season, and Buffalo’s depth at the second level will now be tested even further.

Wattenberg had his 21-day practice window opened by the Broncos earlier this week, paving the way for today’s activation. The 27-year-old operated as the team’s starting center prior to going down after having won a summer competition for the gig with Alex Forsyth. Forsyth handled first-team duties over the past four games, drawing a superior PFF evaluation and therefore potentially playing his way into an extended look atop the depth chart. At a minimum, having Wattenberg back will give Denver – a team with three IR activations left – depth up front.

Lions Place LB Derrick Barnes On Injured Reserve

September 24th, 2024 at 3:50pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

3:50pm: Barnes has indeed been placed on IR, per a team announcement. The move comes as no surprise, but it ensures Detroit will be without a key starter for a stretch. It will be interesting to see how Barnes’ recovery progresses and when he will become an option to return to action.

1:18pm: The Lions’ injury situation just keeps getting worse, with linebacker Derrick Barnes expected to be placed on injured reserve after sustaining a knee injury in Detroit’s Week 3 victory over the Cardinals on Sunday, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

Head coach Dan Campbell said that Barnes would be out for a significant amount of time, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Barnes may even require surgery, making a stint on injured reserve an even more likely option as the team evaluates his knee and determines a long-term outlook for his recovery.

Barnes joins defensive end Marcus Davenport and center Frank Ragnow on the list of injured Lions coming out of Sunday’s game. Davenport suffered a season-ending elbow injury, while Ragnow tore his pectoral muscle.

“It’s going to hurt to lose Barnes,” said Campbell on Monday, but he emphasized that he has “a ton of faith” in the team’s remaining linebackers. He has multiple options to replace Barnes, who started the season alongside veteran Alex Anzalone and 2023 first-round pick Jack Campbell in defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn‘s 4-3 scheme. Malcolm Rodriguez, a 2022 sixth-rounder who became a fan favorite on Hard Knocks as a rookie, is the most likely candidate for Barnes’ spot, with Ben Niemann and Jalen Reeves-Maybin providing additional depth.

Barnes was a fourth-round pick by the Lions in 2021 who appeared in 32 games with 10 starts across his first two NFL seasons before earning a starting role in 2023 as the third off-ball linebacker behind Anzalone and Campbell. Landing on injured reserve will sideline Barnes until at least Week 8, though surgery could hold him out longer.

NFLPA Elects LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin As President

March 8th, 2024 at 1:19pm CST by Sam Robinson

Recently re-signed by the Lions, Jalen Reeves-Maybin will take on a high-profile off-field post as well. The NFLPA elected the veteran linebacker to be its next president.

NFLPA presidents are elected by the board of player reps; Reeves-Maybin will succeed former center J.C. Tretter in the role. Tretter held the job for four years, being elected in March 2020. Reeves-Maybin had previously served as NFLPA vice president.

While Tretter’s appointment came just after players ratified the current CBA, the former Packers and Browns blocker was in place as COVID-19 changed the NFL for a stretch. That brought a host of challenges in multiple seasons, most notably a 2020 campaign that featured a radically adjusted offseason program and many venues without fans due to the pandemic. Reeves-Maybin will enter his union presidency on smoother terrain.

Tretter’s four-year term follows Eric Winston‘s six-year duration in the role. Reeves-Maybin will be the first Black NFLPA chief since Domonique Foxworth held the job from 2012-14. Reeves-Maybin, 29, has seven years of NFL experience — all but one of those seasons coming with the Lions. Primarily working as a backup and special-teamer, Reeves-Maybin signed with the Texans in 2022 but returned to Detroit last year. After earning second-team All-Pro acclaim for special teams work in 2023, Reeves-Maybin agreed to a two-year, $7.5MM deal to stay earlier this offseason.

No CBA talks will be in the offing in the immediate future, with the current agreement not expiring until 2031. A Tennessee alum who arrived in Detroit as a 2017 fourth-round pick, Reeves-Maybin will be working alongside new NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell.

Lions Sign Jalen Reeves-Maybin To Two-Year Extension

February 26th, 2024 at 5:18pm CST by Ben Levine

Jalen Reeves-Maybin is sticking in Detroit, and the special teams ace is making history with his next contract. According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, Reeves-Maybin has agreed to a two-year extension with the Lions. The veteran was set to hit free agency in a few weeks.

The contract is worth $7.5MM and can max out at $8MM. The deal features $5.245MM in guaranteed money, including a $2.5MM signing bonus. That type of money makes Reeves-Maybin the “highest-paid core special-teamer ever,” per Garafolo.

The Tennessee product was drafted by the Lions in the fourth round of the 2017 draft. He served as a backup linebacker and special teamer through his first four seasons in the league, but he finally had a chance to start in 2021. Reeves-Maybin started 11 of his 15 appearances that season, finishing with 82 tackles and a pair of forced fumbles.

He parlayed that performance into a two-year contract with the Texans, but he mostly found himself playing special teams in Houston. After getting cut by Houston last offseason, he returned to Detroit on a one-year deal. He ended up turning into a special teams ace, finishing the season with 20 tackles and a handful of highlight plays. Thanks to his performance, the 29-year-old earned second-team All-Pro honors.

Lions Sign LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin

March 22nd, 2023 at 9:49pm CST by Ely Allen

Linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin is headed back to the 313. After spending the first five years of his career in Detroit, Reeves-Maybin will return to the Lions after a one-year stint in Houston, according to his agent Brian McLaughlin’s Twitter account.

When the 28-year-old was last in Detroit, he left an up-and-down tenure with the team as a starter. He failed to continue that role in Houston, as he was mainly relegated to special teams duty with the Texans. Reeves-Maybin found himself playing fewer defensive snaps than starters Christian Kirksey and Christian Harris. After that, linebackers Kamu Grugier-Hill, Jake Hansen, Blake Cashman, and Garret Wallow all finished with more defensive playing time than Reeves-Maybin.

Reeves-Maybin was released to little surprise. The two-year, $7.5MM contract that he earned after his strong year with the Lions became much too cumbersome to the Texans for a special teamer. Reeves-Maybin was due for a $4.25MM cap hit in 2023, and Houston was willing to eat $2MM in dead money for the $2.25MM in cap savings it got from cutting him.

Reeves-Maybin should be excited about the move back up north, as should his new and former head coach Dan Campbell, who had this to say about Reeves-Maybin following his initial departure from Detroit, “I know he missed a couple of games here due to injury, but when he’s been out there on defense and on special teams, he just, he makes plays. He’s a football player, and that doesn’t go unnoticed.”

Both parties should be happy as they’re both receiving some benefit out of the reunion. Campbell was able to retain his top linebacker from 2022, Alex Anzalone, under a new three-year deal and returns rookie starter Malcolm Rodriguez, as well, but the team lost Chris Board in free agency to New England. Board played a similar role in Detroit to what Reeves-Maybin did in Houston, playing sparingly on defense but contributing largely on special teams. With Reeves-Maybin, Campbell has the hard-working, reliable linebacker on special teams that he lost in Board.

Reeves-Maybin benefits by moving back to the last team and head coach who gave him an extended starting opportunity. If Campbell’s last impression of Reeves-Maybin still holds true, Reeves-Maybin may find himself solidifying the third linebacker position behind Anzalone and Rodriguez.

Texans Plan To Release LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin

March 8th, 2023 at 8:32pm CST by Ely Allen

The rollercoaster that is the career of linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin continues as Houston reportedly plans to release the 28-year-old defender, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. Reeves-Maybin was brought in to compete for the Texans at linebacker but mainly found himself on special teams in 2022.

The rollercoaster started for Reeves-Maybin in college when, after phenomenal performances in his sophomore and junior years, injuries decimated his senior season at Tennessee. He was still drafted in the fourth round by Detroit back in 2017. He showed promise in a rookie season that saw him rotate in at linebacker and record 30 total tackles, three tackles for loss, and a half sack. During his second year with the Lions, Reeves-Maybin began to earn more playing time before injuries started nagging at him again, eventually landing him on injured reserve.

His third year was a confusing mix. He started out with strong snap counts in the first two weeks of 2019 before finding himself relegated to special teams for several games. He did earn three starts to end the season, finishing off a tough year in strong fashion. He would see another letdown year, though, in 2020, spending the entire season on special teams and recording a career-low in total tackles.

Despite his diminished impact on defense, the Lions re-signed Reeves-Maybin to a one-year contract for 2021. After two games in his special teams role, Reeves-Maybin carved out a bit more playing time, eventually earning a starting spot that he kept for the rest of the season. The one-year tryout was a career year for Reeves-Maybin as he totaled career highs in total tackles (82), tackles for loss (4), forced fumbles (2), and passes defensed (4).

The strong year resulted in the Texans signing him to a two-year, $7.5MM contract. Unfortunately for Reeves-Maybin, the rollercoaster that is his career continued. Aside from one game that saw him play 67-percent of the team’s snaps on defense, Reeves-Maybin was largely relegated back to special teams play. He was passed over in favor of Kamu Grugier-Hill, Jake Hansen, Blake Cashman, and Garret Wallow for playing time alongside Christian Kirksey and rookie third-round pick Christian Harris.

The move to release him doesn’t come as much of a surprise. With Reeves-Maybin due to hold a 2023 cap hit of $4.25MM, the Texans are more than willing to eat the $2MM in dead money to release him. The $2.25MM in cap savings is simply too enticing a return for releasing a special teamer.

As for Reeves-Maybin’s future, if his previous rollercoaster years are any indication, the pending free agent is due for a strong performance in his sixth year of NFL play. Some team will likely take a chance on him for a reasonably low price.

Texans To Sign Jalen Reeves-Maybin

March 17th, 2022 at 12:34pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Texans have re-signed several of their own pending free agents, but they are adding to their defense with an outside signing. According to Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson, the team is bringing in linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin (Twitter link). The contract is for two years and $7.5MM. 

Wilson adds that the deal includes $5MM in guaranteed money, and can reach a maximum value of $9MM. The 27-year-old had a breakout season in 2021, both in terms of playing time and production. Reeves-Maybin played 62% of the team’s defensive snaps after primarily being a special teamer up to that point.

With the increased opportunity, he started 11 of the 15 games he appeared in. The former fourth round pick totalled 82 tackles and two forced fumbles. That performance gave the Lions incentive to keep him for the future. “I know he missed a couple of games here due to injury, but when he’s been out there on defense and on special teams, he just, he makes plays”, head coach Dan Campbell said when asked about him. “He’s a football player. And that doesn’t go unnoticed.”

Instead, Reeves-Maybin will head to Houston on a deal roughly three times as lucrative as the one-year extension he signed in Detroit last year. The Lions’ LB corps now consists of Alex Anzalone, Josh Woods and Derrick Barnes at the top of the depth chart.

Lions Want To Re-Sign Jalen Reeves-Maybin

December 31st, 2021 at 6:04pm CST by Zachary Links

Lions linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin is winding down his walk year. But, if Lions head coach Dan Campbell has his druthers, he’ll be staying put in 2022. 

“There’s a number of guys, but I mean certainly one of the first ones that pops in my head is, Jalen Reeves-Maybin pops up,” Campbell said (via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press). “I know he missed a couple of games here due to injury, but when he’s been out there on defense and on special teams, he just, he makes plays. He’s a football player. And that doesn’t go unnoticed.”

Reeves-Maybin, a 2017 fourth-round pick, has spent his entire career in Detroit. Last offseason, after losing Jarrad Davis to the Jets in free agency, the Lions brought him back on a one-year, $2.38MM deal. Since then, he’s responded with a pair of forced fumbles and 57 tackles, tied for fifth on the team. Not too shabby for a player who spent much of his previous years as a special teamer.

“He will have his chance to be our starting inside linebacker,” Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said earlier this week. “He’s had a great year. Still has a ways to go, but we’re excited about that player.”

Of course, there hasn’t been much excitement in Detroit outside of Reeves-Maybin, but the Lions will have plenty of draft ammo to work with this offseason. Now stationed at 2-12-1, they’ll wrap up the year with games against the Seahawks and Packers.

Lions Re-Sign Jalen Reeves-Maybin

March 15th, 2021 at 6:01pm CST by Zachary Links

The Lions are bringing back Jalen Reeves-Maybin (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). Once finalized, it’ll be a one-year, $2.38MM fully–guaranteed deal. Much of that deal will be off of the books, however, due to the veteran salary benefit.

Reeves-Maybin, a 2017 fourth-round pick, has spent his entire career in Detroit. Despite the change in regime, he’ll get at least another year with the Lions. He’s appeared in 55 total games for the club, including three starts (all in 2019). But, he’s mostly shined on special teams. Over the last two years, he’s seen upwards of 70% of the Lions’ ST snaps.

The Lions have more work to do at linebacker, especially after Jarrad Davis left to sign a one-year contract with the Jets. Reeves-Maybin — who saw just 38 snaps on D — could see more time as a traditional LB this year to help fill the gap