By Moses Joshua 
Late-season roster poaching leaves Lions thinner in the secondary with playoffs on the line
The Detroit Lions can’t afford many more hits to their roster, but another one landed anyway. With the postseason race tightening and injuries already stretching the secondary to its limits, Detroit lost a familiar piece of defensive depth this week when a struggling AFC team came calling — and didn’t leave empty-handed.
The timing couldn’t be worse.
Titans Poach a Familiar Face from Detroit’s Secondary
The Tennessee Titans signed safety Erick Hallett off the Lions’ practice squad, immediately placing him on their active roster for the final three games of the season. For Hallett, it’s an opportunity. For Detroit, it’s another problem to manage.
Hallett wasn’t just a developmental body. Earlier this season, he was thrust into meaningful snaps when injuries ravaged the Lions’ defensive backfield — and he held his own.
As the Titans noted in their announcement:
“Hallett, who played in college at Pittsburgh, initially joined the Jaguars as an undrafted free agent in 2023. He was signed by the Lions in 2024 and has spent time on the team’s active roster and practice squad. Hallett started his first game with the Lions in October of 2025 and tallied a team-high eight tackles while playing 62 defensive snaps.”
That performance helped solidify him as a trusted depth option — precisely the type of player contenders hate to lose in December.
Because he was signed to Tennessee’s active roster, the Titans must keep Hallett there for the remainder of the season, effectively ending his availability to Detroit.
Depth Matters — Especially Right Now
This move stings because of context. The Lions’ secondary has been battered all season, forcing players into roles they weren’t originally expected to fill. Hallett provided insurance — someone who knew the system, had game experience, and could step in without the defense completely unraveling.
Detroit moved quickly to fill the open practice squad spot, signing rookie cornerback Keenan Garber, a former Kansas State defender who spent time with Minnesota earlier this year. But while Garber adds size and upside, he doesn’t replace Hallett’s familiarity or in-game reps.
At this point in the season, reliability often matters more than raw potential.
Playoff Pressure Leaves No Room for Attrition
Detroit’s loss to the Rams tightened an already narrow postseason path. The margin for error is gone, and every roster subtraction magnifies existing weaknesses.
Head coach Dan Campbell has been clear about how the team must respond, even as the obstacles pile up:
“Go to work, man. …That’s the message,” Campbell said. “Don’t worry about the what-if’s. Yeah, we gotta win. So be it. (Expletive), we wanted to win Week 1, we wanted to win Week 2, we wanted to win Week 8, we wanna win this one. …Let’s go find a way to win a game.”
That mindset will be tested immediately, starting with a crucial matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers — a game that could decide whether Detroit’s playoff hopes survive another week.
The Bigger Picture
Hallett’s departure won’t grab headlines the way a star injury would, but losses like this are often felt quietly — one missed assignment, one blown coverage, one exhausted starter forced to play too many snaps.
For a Lions team already walking a tightrope, losing dependable defensive depth is more than inconvenient. It’s a reminder that in December football, every roster move matters — and not all of them happen on your terms.