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Lions Lose ‘Rare’ DT After Titans Poach Him From Practice Squad

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Dan Campbell

Getty Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell.

The Detroit Lions had carved out a significant role for Quinton Bohanna in recent weeks, but now the promising defensive lineman’s time in Detroit has come to an abrupt end after he was poached from their practice squad.

As Justin Rogers of the Detroit News reported on December 13, the Tennessee Titans signed Bohanna to their active roster. Bohanna had been elevated to Detroit’s active roster in Weeks 11 through 13 and played 20 or more snaps in each game, but the team faced a decision on his future as they were out of elevations.

While Mike Payton of AtoZ Sports predicted that the Lions would sign Bohanna to their active roster, he instead returned to the practice squad and is now gone after landing with the Titans.

Lions Had Big Plans for Quinton Bohanna

The Lions appeared to have big plans for Bohanna, who earned some praise from defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn for his performance last week.

“That’s a big man,” Glenn said, via the Detroit News. “That’s a huge man, and the thing that he shows that’s pretty impressive is he has some first-step quickness to him. Listen, he’s still a young player, too. I remember him, and I know you guys do too, when he was in Dallas. He played a good amount of plays there, so he understands this game, but he’s still a young player and he still needs to develop.”

Glenn had acknowledged that the team was out of elevations for Bohanna, hinting that they could bring him to the active roster.

“So, we have to be very careful on how we use these elevations to make sure that we can get the best guy for us,” Glenn said. “And we will do that, but I’m impressed with that player. I’m impressed with him and he’s doing a good job for us.”

Bohanna had helped to fill some of the void created when starting defensive lineman Alim McNeill was placed on injured reserve after suffering a sprained knee in the team’s Sunday, December 3, win over the New Orleans Saints. McNeill had been in the midst of a career-best season, making five sacks with 31 total tackles.

Quinton Bohanna’s Size, Skill Earned Praise

Bohanna came into the NFL in 2021, a sixth-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys.

He appeared in 14 games his rookie season with one start, then saw his role grow the next year as he played in 13 games with nine starts while registered 20 tackles, including 3 for a loss and 2 quarterback pressures.

But Dallas acquired veteran Johnathan Hankins and drafted Mazi Smith with their first-round pick in 2023, causing Bohanna to lose his spot on the roster.

Bohanna was still highly regarded. Reid Hanson of USA Today’s Cowboys Wire noted that the “mountain” of a defensive lineman “possessed both enormous mass and a shockingly quick step off the snap.”

“Bohanna was the rare mix the Cowboys look for in a 1-tech defensive tackle,” Hanson wrote. “He was stout enough to 2-gap and hold up against double teams, yet agile enough to provide a little penetration. He was a late round pick, but with any luck could develop into a real player with a little time.”

Nathan Dougherty is a sports reporter covering the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins. Previously he wrote for the Rochester Business Journal and served as the assistant editor of athletic trade magazines Coaching Management, Athletic Management and Training & Conditioning. He is based out of Rochester, New York, and loves everything football. More about Nathan Dougherty

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