Getty Michael Warren II celebrates a score against Virginia Tech.
The Detroit Lions have been doing a bit of juggling during camp, and recently made another intriguing move designed to provide some depth to an already strong position group.
Late last week, the Lions revealed that they had signed former Cincinnati Bearcats running back Michael Warren II. Going the other way was rookie runner and undrafted free agent signee Rakeem Boyd. Boyd had joined the team out of camp, but was waived with an injury settlement.
The #Lions have signed free agent RB Michael Warren and waived RB Rakeem Boyd (via injury settlement).
Perhaps the most interesting fact about Warren is he was once Ohio’s high school Mr. Football during the 2016 season, meaning he was the top player in a state that is routinely loaded with talent. Coming out early for the draft, Warren was not selected in 2020, but spent the offseason with the Philadelphia Eagles and Carolina Panthers before latching on with the Washington Football Team late in 2020. He was released and became a free agent on April 6.
Warren’s odds of making the roster are long considering what Detroit already has at running back, but he will at the very least be given a chance at this point, which is huge for the player at this stage of his young career. If Warren runs well enough, he could be a guy who has the chops to stick around on the practice squad as a depth runner.
Warren’s Stats and Highlights
It’s easy to see why Warren is such an intriguing prospect given what he did in college. Warren put up 2,918 yards for the Bearcats and a gaudy 34 touchdowns on the ground. He is the Cincinnati single-season touchdown champion with 19 in 2018, and also contributed 442 receiving yards and 3 scores to his totals in college. Thus far, Warren has not registered a single NFL stat, but hasn’t exactly been given a chance to do so in a big enough way.
Here’s a look at some of his Bearcats highlights:
It looks as if Warren can make all the right moves, so finding him a role might be the biggest overall goal for the franchise at this point in time.
Lions Running Back Depth Strong
It’s been a wild offseason in Detroit for running backs, so it’s probably no surprise to see another one added. Detroit just released Kerryon Johnson this month, which was a mild surprise only because of the fact that Johnson was established and a solid pass protector. Other than that, there was a question of where his snaps were going to come from in 2021. The Lions signed Jamaal Williams and have D’Andre Swift on the roster, who many believe is trending toward being a future star. Bringing Jermar Jackson into the mix in the draft likely only complicated matters more for the Lions, who have a ton of depth suddenly at running back. Johnson was likely never going to see the big role that was expected in Detroit, thus the team decided to pull the plug and give Johnson a chance at a fresh start somewhere else.
Warren might have stiff competition to make the roster, but all that matters is that the Lions are giving Warren a chance to get himself into the mix of a big group.
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Lions Sign Productive Former Ohio Mr. Football Running Back