Lions Sign Former Browns Lineman With Fantastic Nickname

Getty Jamie Meder celebrates after a Browns win.

The Detroit Lions have been dinged up with injury in the trenches for 2019, so they were looking for bodies to help fill in up front on defense.

Wednesday, they found one with the addition of Jamie Meder, a defensive tackle formally of the Cleveland Browns. Detroit signed Meder to a contract and added him to the active roster, revealing the move on Wednesday morning. Meder, who is 28 years old, started his career with the Baltimore Ravens before a stop with the Browns. That’s where he became known for more than just his play on the field.

Detroit is facing down an injury crisis up front given the health status of names like A’Shawn Robinson, Kevin Strong, Da’Shawn Hand and Mike Daniels, so Meder is a guy who can give the team some depth for the last few games of the season. Beyond that, he can attempt to make a case for 2020 and beyond with a solid finish to the year to be on Detroit’s radar as a rotational piece.

Before signing with the Lions, Meder was on the Seattle Seahawks’ roster as a reserve-futures player. Seattle released him just before the 2019 season, and he’s been looking for work ever since.

Enter Detroit and their dinged up defensive line as a great chance for a new opportunity for the Cleveland native.

Jamie Meder Stats

Though he hasn’t had a long NFL career and was undrafted out of Ashland in 2014, Meder has been a solid rotational piece in the NFL. He’s put up 95 tackles and 2 sacks in his career and has one of the biggest blocked field goals in Browns history to his credit.

In 2016, it was Meder who broke through the line and got a paw on a kick from the Los Angeles Chargers to prevent what would have been an 0-16 season for the Browns. As a result of the play, Meder received the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week award, becoming the first ever Browns defensive lineman to claim the honor in history.

Meder is a guy who can play special teams, act as a rotational piece for a defensive line and give a team solid snaps within both those roles. To that end, he could be a valuable addition for the Lions, who are looking for playmakers anywhere amid a miserable, injury ravaged 2019 season on the field.

Jamie Meder Nickname

More than just his game, Meder packs one of the top nicknames around. He’s known as “The Pierogi Prince of Parma,” a moniker bestowed upon him by former Browns offensive tackle Joe Thomas. Meder grew up in Parma, Ohio and was a Browns fan as a kid. He also made a play to save them from ironically joining the Lions as one of two teams to go 0-16 in a season. That’s quite a footnote for a relatively unknown defensive lineman to have on his historical ledger.

Like Cleveland, Detroit knows hard times on the football field, and they also know Pierogi given their Polish population. Perhaps the Pierogi Prince of Parma can find his way to Hamtramck next, and make a few plays to help him become a Lions cult hero in the days ahead.

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