The Detroit Lions struggle to find depth on defensive tackle. They made two big signatures on the position in Danny Shelton and Nick Williams early in free agency, and the return of 2018 standout Da’Shawn Hand should help as well, but there is not too much happening on the depth map outside of them. Seventh-round pick Jashon Cornell who was placed on injured reserve earlier this week made a bad situation even worse.
Detroit may try to tackle the crisis on Friday, when it brought in five defensive tackles for training, hoping to find someone who can compete for a roster spot.
The most notable of the group is TY McGill, a man from the NFL Tour who is entering his sixth year in the league. McGill was a developed free agent from North Carolina State in 2015, when the Seattle Seahawks gave him a chance in training camp. He spent his rookie year with the Indianapolis Colts, and has since played 11 stints with eight different NFL teams. The defensive approach spanned 2019 with the Los Angeles Chargers – a team with which he has three separate stints – and played three games for the team. He has notched 37 career appearances.
Elijah Qualls was also a member of the group. The 2017 pick from the University of Washington’s sixth round pick was initially selected by the Philadelphia Eagles, but has also rounded out the league. Qualls most recently appeared in the XFL, where he played for the DC Defenders before the league was suspended mid-season. Qualls has played in six career games, all for the Eagles 2017 Super Bowl winning team. He has not played since a regular season game.
The rest of the group included Josiah Coatney, a 2020 UDFA from Ole Miss who was mostly with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Walter Palmore, a 2020 UDFA from Missouri who was recently with the Houston Texans, and Kevin Wilkins, which marks the 2019 season on the practice group New York Giants.
