After freeing up three roster spots this week, the Lions have reportedly filled three of them as training camp nears.
The Detroit Lions are set to open their 2025 training camp on Sunday, and they’re putting the final touches on their roster ahead of practices.
The Lions entered Friday with three open spots on their roster, and they filled two of them following a multi-player workout. Detroit is signing former Titans running back Jabari Small (per Jordan Schultz ) and undrafted rookie free agent Tyson Russell (per Aaron Wilson ).
UPDATE: The Lions confirmed both signings on Friday, and also announced the addition of cornerback DiCaprio Bootle.
Small, who attended the University of Tennessee, went undrafted in 2024 and signed with his hometown Tennessee Titans . He spent the entire season on the practice squad, signed a 2025 futures contract with the Titans, but was released following the NFL Draft (the Titans drafted Michigan’s Kalel Mullings in the sixth round). Small will join a running backs room that is returning their top four players from last season and also has UDFA rookie Kye Robichaux on the roster.
Russell was invited to try out at Lions’ rookie minicamp , and while he didn’t receive a contract, he was a standout on Jeremy Reisman’s practice observations :
“Another UDFA who stood out was Vanderbilt cornerback Tyson Russell, who logged back-to-back pass breakups in the final sessions of 7-on-7s. On one, he showed strong closing speed, aggressively attacking the hands of a receiver on a comeback route.”
Russell was invited back to Allen Park on Friday for another tryout opportunity, and this time he left the Lions’ training facility with a contract.
Bootle has been in the league for four seasons, spending time with the Chiefs, Panthers, and Chargers. Over the past two seasons, he’s logged over 200 special teams snaps on all four phases. He also started two games for the Panthers in 2023 at outside corner, finishing with 14 tackles and two passes defended.
It’s common for teams to make multiple roster moves heading into training camp and it’s easy to get lost in the numbers. For example, at this stage of the offseason, teams are allowed 90 players on their rosters, but the Lions received a roster exemption for rostering an “international player” in rookie Ahmed Hassanein , increasing their available roster spots to 91 players.
Over the last 48 hours, the Lions officially processed Frank Ragnow’s retirement paperwork on Wednesday , Levi Onwuzurike landed on reserve/PUP on Thursday, and rookie UDFA running back Anthony Tyus was released with an NFI designation, opening up three spots on the roster. Eight other Lions also landed on injury lists, but each of those was considered an “active” designation (meaning they can be removed at any time), and therefore, they still count against the roster numbers. Second-round rookie Tate Ratledge signed his contract Thursday night , but he was also already part of the total count.
Now, by signing Small, Russell, and Bootle the Lions bring their total player count up to 91, meaning there are no more vacancies.