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Al-Quadin Muhammad didn’t arrive as a member of the Detroit Lions until October. Signed to the practice squad after being released by the Cowboys, the seven-year vet needed some time to get used to the fourth defensive system he’d been a part of in a little over 18 months.
Now that he’s gotten acclimated to the Lions culture and scheme, Muhammad had emerged as one of Detroit’s top pass rushers. No. 69 has a sack in the last two games he’s played in, and his energy and physicality have been effective.
Just ask Dan Campbell.
The Lions coach praised Muhammad’s growth into an integral piece of the Detroit defense.
“Dude, he’s grown,” Campbell said prior to Thursday’s practice. “As a matter of fact, we were talking about him yesterday, he came up in the defensive staff room. We really feel like over the last three weeks, he’s gotten better and better and better. He came – we brought him in, we had to use him basically immediately, got him out there and he gave us everything he had, but he had also just walked back into the building. So, he’s a little rusty, then trying to learn our terminology, and then scheme too.”
Campbell continued,
“The style in which we play was different than what he’s played in his career. We ask him to do things a little bit different, and so there was a growing period for a veteran guy, and he’s done it. I feel like he’s really coming around and that’s encouraging.”
The 29-year-old Muhammad was once a full-time starter for the Colts back in 2021, racking up six sacks and 48 tackles. That came after he began his career with the Saints back in 2017, a team that included Campbell and Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn on the coaching staff.
He’s battled through a 6-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs and an ill-fated move from the Colts to the Bears with recently fired Bears coach Matt Eberflus. It didn’t work out for Muhammad in Dallas, either. To Muhammad’s credit, he’s stayed positive and emerged as a valued contributor for the Lions — enough to earn strong consideration to return in 2025.