Lions sign fifth UFL player in three weeks, he’ll compete in Detroit with the guy who beat him for an All-UFL team spot
The Detroit Lions have been all over UFL players this summer. It’s been something to see. In the last three weeks, they’ve signed St. Louis Battlehawks running back Jacob Saylors, Battlehawks cornerback Nick Whiteside, Michigan Panthers cornerback D.J. Miller, and San Antonio Brahmas tight end Steven Stilianos. Now they add another with DC Defenders running […]
The Detroit Lions have been all over UFL players this summer. It’s been something to see. In the last three weeks, they’ve signed St. Louis Battlehawks running back Jacob Saylors, Battlehawks cornerback Nick Whiteside, Michigan Panthers cornerback D.J. Miller, and San Antonio Brahmas tight end Steven Stilianos.
Now they add another with DC Defenders running back Deon Jackson.
Jackson ran for 419 yards and four touchdowns for the Defenders last year. He just missed the cut for the All-UFL team. Jackson has a decent amount of NFL experience, too. He came into the league as an undrafted free agent in 2021 and spent two and a half seasons with the Colts. He also spent some time with the Browns, Giants, and Jets. His biggest season was 2022 when he ran for 236 yards and a touchdown for the Colts in 16 games.
The interesting thing is that he’ll now compete with Jacob Saylors for a spot on the Lions roster here in Detroit. Saylors is the guy who just edged Jackson out for that spot on the All-UFL team. This could be a fun little battle in the final two weeks of the season.
The truth is that neither really has a chance to make the roster. With Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery, Sione Vaki, and Craig Reynolds holding down the four roster spots on the 53-man roster, the best chance Saylors and Jackson have is to make the practice squad in that Jermar Jefferson role. Still, the battle is going to be fun.
We wanted to hear a little more from someone who’s covered Jackson, so we reached out to our Colts beat writer Destin Adams for the scoop.
“Deon Jackson was a key special teamer with the Colts, which helped him land the last RB spot on the roster for a minute there. He lacked the ability to be a between-the-tackle option for the Colts, and due to injuries to Jonathan Taylor and others at the time, he was catapulted into the starting lineup for the week. Things didn’t go to plan, and he was ultimately released from the team shortly after. If the Lions want to use him on special teams, I think he can still play an impactful role. I doubt at this point he can offer you much out of the backfield at the NFL level, though.”
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