Getty Reggie Gilbert celebrates a play with a Packers teammate.
The Detroit Lions continue to try and turn over their roster as part of a new staff coming to town, and the team continues to rotate pieces in that could help them improve.
Monday, the team revealed that they had signed linebacker Reggie Gilbert to the roster. Gilbert, 28, comes to Detroit fresh off a stint most recently with the Jacksonville Jaguars and before that, the Arizona Cardinals. Prior to that, Gilbert is known for a few stops with the Tennessee Titans and Green Bay Packers.
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Gilbert is far from the only former Packers player the Lions have signed recently. Just last week, the team added defensive lineman Brian Price to the roster. Price and Gilbert’s time in Green Bay overlapped, so it will be fascinating to see if either player can turn over a new leaf and stick on the Detroit roster after playing bit-part roles for the Packers in the last few seasons.
Gilbert’s Stats and Highlights
Coming into the league in 2016 out of Arizona, Gilbert went undrafted but was scooped up by the Packers, who placed him on the roster and got almost immediate results, putting up 38 tackles and 2.5 sacks in his rookie season. Come 2019, Gilbert had fallen out of favor in Green Bay, and the team shipped him off to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for a seventh-round pick in the 2020 draft. Gilbert didn’t last long in Tennessee, and bounced around to Arizona and more recently Jacksonville afterward. So far, he’s put up 62 total tackles, 4.5 sacks, deflected 3 passes and recovered a fumble in his career.
A look at the tape shows some of the athleticism that the Lions could like in Gilbert:
Adding more players with the capabilities of Gilbert is a goal for the team, so it will be interesting to see how this one works out for Detroit.
Lions Linebacker Depth in 2021
One thing working into Gilbert’s favor with his new team could be the fact that the Lions don’t have a ton of depth at linebacker. They’ve made a few additions in Shaun-Dion Hamilton, Derrick Barnes and Alex Anzalone and still have an inconsistent Jahlani Tavai on the roster, but as a whole, they have not chosen to add much this offseason at the spot while subtracting plenty. Jarrad Davis and Christian Jones were allowed to walk, which could mean the team wants to get more of a look at other options to see who might step up and stick on the roster.
Gilbert is going to have a chance to crack what is a relatively thin group at linebacker and impress some coaches. It’s possible given his NFL production as well as his age and experience, he could be a good candidate for the practice squad if he is able to carve out a role in Detroit with a solid offseason and camp.