We wondered on Monday why the Jaguars mentioned the release of cornerback/kick returner Brian Witherspoon as an oh-by-the-way afterthought in the official announcement regarding the guy they signed to take his place.
It’s possible that the Jags were hoping to slide Witherspoon through waivers, so that he could then be signed to the team’s practice squad.
If that was the goal, it didn’t work.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the Lions claimed Witherspoon on waivers today.
The Lions also signed former Giants tight end Michael Matthews, and the Lions promoted running back Cedric Peerman from the practice squad.
Unless the Lions only had 50 players on the active roster, they’ll have to release players or send them to one of the various reserve lists. One spot surely will come from the placement of running back Kevin Smith on injured reserve.
Smith, as expected, will have season-ending knee surgery.
“He’s got it bad,” coach Jim Schwartz said Monday. “I don’t want to speak for doctors until they go in and they can analyze all those different things, because I’ve seen situations where it’s been worse than expected or even better than expected.”
It sounds like there might be more than a torn ACL going on with Smith, based on the MRI results. And it also sounds like Schwartz is opting for optimism.
