Getty Head coach Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions signed veteran offensive lineman Ike Boettger on July 22.
The Detroit Lions have finally filled out the last remaining spot on their 90-man roster. The team announced on their official X (formerly Twitter) account on July 22 that they have offensive lineman Ike Boettger.
NFL insider Aaron Wilson first reported the signing.
Boettger played two games for the Indianapolis Colts last season. But he’s spent most of his career with the Buffalo Bills.
Across five years with the Bills, Boettger played in 34 contests. Of those games, he started 17 of them, playing at both guard and tackle.
Boettger signing with the Lions means Detroit will have 90 players to begin training camp. The Lions had one open roster spot since they released kicker James Turner after the team completed its offseason workout program.
Lions Sign Offensive Lineman Ike Boettger
After playing both offensive guard and tackle at Iowa, Boettger began his NFL career as an undrafted free agent. He signed with the Bills following the 2018 NFL draft, but the team cut him ahead of the regular season.
Boettger then joined the Kansas City Chiefs, but his tenure with the Chiefs only last 10 days. The Bills then signed Boettger and promoted him to their active roster.
The veteran offensive lineman has played in at least one game every season since then. He played in six contests during his first two seasons, including four in his rookie campaign, before getting a chance to start in 2020.
Over the past two seasons, though, Boettger has only played in three games. He missed most of 2022 because of injury, and then he didn’t make the Bills roster out of training camp last year. The Colts released Boetter off their practice squad on October 31, and he finished the season as a free agent.
He played eight snaps on special teams for the Colts. He didn’t play at all on offense.
Boettger will bring versatile experience to Detroit’s training camp. He played more than 600 offensive snaps in both the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
But over the past two years, Boettger has lined up for just six offensive snaps total.
Lions Offensive Line Depth Heading Into Training Camp
With the addition of Boettger, the Lions will have 17 offensive linemen on their 90-man roster to begin training camp. Detroit officially has Boettger listed as a guard.
Veterans Graham Glasgow and Kevin Zeitler are expected to start at guard for the Lions this season. Boettger will presumably compete with Kayode Awosika, Matt Farniok, Netane Muti and Christian Mahogany for a depth role at guard.
It’s possible Boettger could see some snaps at offensive tackle as well. But the starting tackles for the Lions are pretty set as well with Taylor Decker at left tackle and Penei Sewell, fresh off signing a record-setting new contract, at right tackle.
The Lions have Colby Sorsdal, Dan Skipper, Connor Galvin and rookie Giovanni Manu for depth at tackle. However, Manu is not one of the team’s 17 offensive linemen on the 90-man roster to begin camp. Manu is set to begin training camp on the active/non-football injury list.
ESPN’s Eric Woodyard predicted the Lions will keep nine offensive linemen after training camp. Detroit featured one of the best offensive lines last season. It’s expected to be one of the best offensive fronts in the league again this fall.
Therefore, Boettger faces a difficult task making the team’s regular season roster.