Detroit Lions 6th-round pick Ahmed Hassanein doesn’t count against the roster due to a little-known rule.
On Friday, the Detroit Lions announced they had signed four of their seven drafted players from the 2025 NFL Draft . One of those players was defensive end Ahmed Hassanein, the first Egyptian-native player to have ever been drafted in the NFL.
On the NFL’s transaction list for Friday, Hassanein showed up as a roster exemption, as an international player. In short, that means he does not count against Detroit’s 90-man roster limit for the time being.
Why does Ahmed Hassanein qualify for the International Player exemption?
This is because of the International Player Pathway (IPP) program, an effort to help foreign players get a shot at the NFL. The program was created in 2017 and has had specific tweaks to it to accompany more and more players. As of 2024, here are the criteria necessary to qualify to be part of the IPP:
- A person whose citizenship and principal place of residence are outside the United States and Canada
- A maximum of two years of United States high school experience
- In addition, an international player must (i) satisfy all NFL player eligibility rules and (ii) have been eligible for a prior NFL Draft
That’s where things get a little complicated for Hassanein. He was actually born in California, before moving to Egypt at age six. He eventually moved back to California in high school, where he only played exactly two years of high school ball: 2019 and 2020. His eligibility for the IPP program suggests he has dual citizenship between the United States and Egypt.
[Editor’s Note: I’m not sure how he qualifies for the “principal place of residence” being outside the US and Canada, considering he’s been living in the United States since 2018. I could not find clarification there.]
What does this mean for his roster status?
That means, currently, Hassanein does not count against the 90-man roster. That leaves Detroit with 88 players currently counting against the limit. (Note: It was previously believed the Lions were up against the 90-man limit, but not only does Hassanein not count, UDFA Keith Cooper Jr., who was originally reported as a signing, was only invited to Lions rookie minicamp. He has not officially signed with the team.)
Hassanein will continue to not count against the roster until the Lions make their 53-man roster cuts. If Hassanein makes the team, he will then count against the 53-man roster. If Hassanein is waived and clears waivers, he can sign to any team’s practice squad without counting against the 16-man practice squad roster limit.
So how many roster spots do the Lions have, and what will they do with them?
The Lions currently have two open spots on their 90-man roster. It’s unclear what they will do with those spots, but the team has often signed a player or two from rookie minicamp tryouts to join the team for the rest of Organized Team Activities. Rookie minicamp concludes on Sunday, so it’s possible we will see a signing or two after that.
Lions general manager Brad Holmes also said after the draft they will continue to look for ways they can improve the roster.
“We’ll turn over every stone. There are other avenues in the player acquisition process, so it doesn’t stop at the draft,” Holmes said.