The Detroit Lions released defensive back Jalen Mills from their practice squad on Tuesday, the team announced. The move came during Detroit’s bye week, two days after a 45-21 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
Out of elevations
Mills, 32, signed with Detroit’s practice squad on September 21 and was elevated for three straight games, the maximum standard elevations a practice-squad player can receive in a season. His elevation against Arizona was his last. To keep using him on game days, the Lions would have had to sign him to the 53-man roster, and general manager Brad Holmes chose not to.
Mills played in two of those three games, totaling three tackles on 26 defensive snaps and six special-teams snaps, Lions Wire’s Josh Helmer reported. He did not play in the first game he was elevated for, saw four snaps in the second and played 22 in the win over the Cardinals.
Depth for a banged-up secondary
Detroit brought Mills in as insurance with safety Thomas Harper and defensive back Avonte Maddox on injured reserve. The Lions did not announce a corresponding move. Because he was released from the practice squad, Mills is a free agent and can sign anywhere, including back in Detroit, where a new practice-squad deal would reset his elevations.
A long résumé
The Lions claimed Mills off waivers on December 10 last season, and he played three games for them in 2025 with 65 defensive snaps and 12 on special teams. A seventh-round pick by the Philadelphia Eagles out of LSU in 2016, he won a Super Bowl ring in Philadelphia and later played for the New England Patriots. He entered this season with 122 career games and 92 starts, 460 tackles, 60 passes defended, eight interceptions, three forced fumbles and 1.5 sacks.
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