Recently cut Lions player is making plays that have some wondering if the Lions made a mistake letting him go
Back in February the Detroit Lions made a really interesting signing when they brought in the CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player award winner Mathieu Betts. It always feels like a long shot when a player tries to transition from the CFL to the NFL, but Betts felt different. After all, this was a guy that […]
Back in February the Detroit Lions made a really interesting signing when they brought in the CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player award winner Mathieu Betts.
It always feels like a long shot when a player tries to transition from the CFL to the NFL, but Betts felt different. After all, this was a guy that racked up 18 sacks for the BC Lions during the 2023 season. This guy was virtually unblockable for them.
Ultimately Betts struggled to get the NFL game down in time to make the Lions 53-man roster, but the thought was that he'd be a good candidate to make the practice squad and maybe he'd get some elevations this season and maybe in 2025 he would have chance to at least crack the rotation. That didn't happen and Betts went back to Canada. Now he's doing this.
The first thing that came to mind after watching this was that I had no idea he was that fast. He turned on the jets here to go 70-yards to the house.
When you see stuff like this it's really easy to wonder if the Lions made a mistake. When you look at the Lions right now and see that they're going through injuries with Marcus Davenport and John Cominsky, it's easy to say "yeah, they should have kept all the help they could get."
So did the Lions make a foolish mistake just letting this guy go? The answer is mostly no with a splash of yes. Here's the explanation:
The reason it's mostly no is because Betts really did struggle to grasp the NFL. The Lions tried to do multiple things with him and he just couldn't nail any of them down. The other thing is that Betts is already 29-years-old. If he were 25, there's no doubt he's on the Lions practice squad right now and they're working to get him better.
The splash of yes is that while Betts struggled, I think his current athleticism would have been enough to at least get him on the practice squad this year and maybe get him an elevation or two with the injuries happening. With that said, the Lions made the right move letting Betts go and sticking with the young Isaac Ukwu. There's a lot more of future there.
By the way, if you're wondering why the Lions don't just bring him back, it's because due to CFL rules, he cannot sign an NFL contract until December at the earliest. He's gone for good most likely.
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