The Detroit Lions have lost one of their primary depth options at cornerback.
Former Detroit Lions cornerback Kindle Vildor is headed to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers , according to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter. He’s signing a one-year deal, but there are no more public details on the deal.
Vildor has spent the last two years with the Lions, offering up much needed veteran experience in a relatively young room. While likely signed for depth purposes, the Lions ended up needing Vildor to start for them at the end of both 2023 and 2024. Including the playoffs, Vildor would end up playing 26 games for the Lions, starting seven of those. He finishes his Lions career with 26 tackles, two tackles for loss, five passes defended and a forced fumble. Unfortunately for Vildor, he will be most remembered in Detroit for an unlucky moment in the NFC Championship game in which a ball deflected off his facemask and was caught by 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk for a critical 51-yard gain.
Without Vildor, the Lions may be seeking more depth at the cornerback group. They’ve already lost Carlton Davis to free agency—although they replaced him with projected starter D.J. Reed . Still, Khalil Dorsey and Emmanuel Moseley are also now unrestricted free agents. All that Detroit has signed to the position right now is Reed, Terrion Arnold, Amik Robertson, Ennis Rakestraw, and Stantley Thomas-Oliver. There is some work to do with depth at cornerback.
Keep up to date on the latest Lions free agency moves with our 2025 Detroit Lions offseason tracker and contract/depth chart tracker .