The Detroit Lions scoured practice squads around the league in search of secondary help before Week 3. If the Lions do the same thing before their next matchup, they aren’t going to find safety Ifeatu Melifonwu still available.
FOX Sports’ Greg Auman reported Tuesday the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Melifonwu to their active roster. The safety spent the first three games of the 2026 season on the Buccaneers practice squad.
The Lions selected Melifonwu at No. 101 overall during the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Over four seasons in Detroit, the safety started 14 contests while playing in 237 games.
“Bucs are signing safety Ifeatu Melifonwu to their 53-man roster. He had been elevated from the practice squad in each of the first three games but was out of elevations,” wrote Auman. “Has 51 snaps, one tackle on special teams.”
In his three practice squad elevations this season, Melifonwu has only played on special teams.
Former Lions Safety Joins Buccaneers Active Roster
As Auman explained, the Buccaneers used all three of Melifonwu’s practice squad elevations. Each player on the practice squad has a maximum of three elevations per season per practice squad stint.
So to ensure Melifonwu would be available for Tampa Bay this week, the team added the safety to the active roster.
Melifonwu joined the Buccaneers after training camp began on July 30. The Buccaneers released the safety at the NFL roster deadline in August but re-signed him to the practice squad to begin the regular season.
In three games this season, Melifonwu has posted one combined tackle while fulfilling his special teams role.
With the Lions, Melifonwu played a career-high 17 games during the 2023 season. He started six contests that season and appeared to be ready for a bigger role in 2024.
However, the safety suffered an ankle injury during training camp. Melifonwu returned to start the final three regular season games of the 2024 campaign. But the Lions allowed him to leave in free agency in the spring of 2025.
In March 2025, Melifonwu signed a 1-year, $4 million deal with the Miami Dolphins. With Miami, the safety started a career-high eight games last season. With that playing time, he registered a career-highs 53 combined tackles, including one for loss with one quarterback hit, one pass defense and one interception.
Ex-Lions Starting Safety Joining NFC Foe’s Active Roster: Report