The Detroit Lions traded a sixth-round pick to the New York Jets for safety Andre Cisco. The move gives the Lions another player at a position of need before the NFL trade deadline. With Aaron Glenn coaching the Jets and Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard coming up as coach under Glenn, the fit should be somewhat seamless as well.
Cisco signed a one-year, $2.5M deal with the Jets in free agency this past offseason. So, the Lions do not have much of a salary cap hit, and they are not tied to Cisco beyond this season.
Detroit Lions Acquire Veteran Safety Andre Cisco from New York Jets for Sixth-Round Pick
Cisco is a former third-round pick, going 65th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. He did not play much as a rookie, but logged 15 starts for the Jacksonville Jaguars in his second NFL season. Cisco started for the Jags for the duration of his rookie contract. However, he ended with an injury, and the team did not bring him back.
Cisco signed with the Jets in 2025 and started in eight games. However, his season was shortened due to the injury. In 2026, he re-signed with the Jets and started in four games.
However, New York has Minkah Fitzpatrick and Dane Belton starting. So, the need for him was not quite there. Sitting at 2-6, the Jets decided to get something back rather than let Cisco sit on the bench and then leave in free agency.
Overall, Cisco has 3,893 snaps in his career and 191 this season. He primarily plays the free safety role, with 2,718 of his snaps being in center field.
Lions Add Safety Help
The Lions safety room has been in flux all season. They tried to start with Chuck Clark and Avante Maddox, but Maddox got hurt and is on the IR.
Thomas Harper was the third safety and ended up getting injured as well. The team tried to put Keith Abney back at safety, but the rookie fifth-round pick was a cornerback in college, and the transition was tough. They also tried Christian Izien, who was not helpful.
They got Brian Branch back from an injury a couple of weeks ago, and they hope to get Kerby Joseph back from injury in the next fe weeks. However, Joseph has a questionable knee injury and his timeline to return is unknown.
It looks like Cisco is going to step in for Chuck Clark in the short term, and potentially replace Joseph in the long term. If Joseph returns, the team might end up using Cisco as a third safety.
The team still has until November 10 at 4 PM EST to add a cornerback.
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