Detroit Lions waive 2 defenders ahead of NFL trade deadline

Posted by author November 4, 2024 NFL

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The Detroit Lions have waived defensive lineman Chris Smith and linebacker Abraham Beauplan as speculation surrounds the team and league ahead of the NFL trade deadline.

Smith has been a regular on Detroit’s practice squad for the last two years. He’s appeared in two games for the Lions this season, including the season opener and the most recent victory over the Green Bay Packers. Smith has 18 defensive snaps and another three on special teams to his name.

Beauplan spent part of last year with the Minnesota Vikings but was waived early in training camp after signing a futures contract. He landed with the Lions a couple of weeks later, then was waived and eventually added to the team’s practice squad. The 24-year-old logged nine snaps on special teams in Detroit’s 24-14 win over the Packers from Lambeau Field.

The NFL’s trade deadline is 4 p.m. Tuesday. The Lions have been at the heart of a ton of rumor and innuendo, with national reports linking them to Cleveland Browns pass rusher Za’Darius Smith.

One of those roster spots freed in these two moves was made for the returning Jameson Williams, with the receiver’s two-game suspension lifted. The other? Well, the other remains open, so keep those eyes open and check out MLive’s insider texting service for updates.

“Yeah, I think it’s hard to say. I don’t think it’s entirely up to us,” Lions head coach Dan Campbell said of the trade market. “I can tell you we’re trying, (Lions general manager) Brad (Holmes)’s trying, and we’ve looked at everything, we really have made a ton of calls, and he’s been rolling on it. So, we’ll see. We still have a little bit of time here.

“We have until tomorrow evening, so we’ll see what happens.”

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