Punter Sam Martin resumed practicing with the Lions last week, which was the first step toward getting off the physically unable to perform list and back on the active roster.
That move came a bit closer on Tuesday. The Lions announced that they have released Jeff Locke, who stepped into the punter spot for Detroit after Martin and initial replacement Kasey Redfern were injured.
Locke punted 27 times in five games for the Lions. He had a net average of 42.2 yards on those kicks and has a 39.1 yard average over the course of his career, which began with the Vikings in 2013.
Martin has spent the last four seasons as Detroit’s punter and should be back in the job for Sunday night’s game against the Steelers.