Before he signed with the Buccaneers after two seasons with the Lions, Al-Quadin Muhammad got some feedback from Kacy Rodgers, who spent six seasons coaching the defensive line in Tampa before taking the same role in Detroit last season.
"Me and him spoke and he said it would be a great fit," Muhammad told reporters in Tampa Bay. "He said I would really like it, so I knew there was some familiarity there. I felt really confident, really happy about it. Excited about it."
Muhammad entered last year with 15 sacks in seven NFL seasons. Then he piled up 11 in 17 games in a specialized pass-rushing role with the Lions, more than he had in his prior three seasons combined. He was one of the best bargains in the league. He turns 31 later this month. He said that he would go where he was valued in free agency, and wound up signing a one-year deal worth up to $6 million with the Bucs.
Muhammad's departure leaves the Lions extremely thin at edge rusher across from Aidan Hutchinson. Their only other defensive end on the roster at the moment is Ahmed Hassanein, a developmental sixth-round pick last year who didn't play as a rookie.
Asked how much interest the Lions showed in bringing him back, Muhammad said, "I don't really know, how they thought about it or exactly what went into it."
"And I don’t really care. I’m in Tampa and I’m happy to be in Tampa and if I’m not mistaken, they’re on the schedule this year, so I’m excited about that. And I do love Detroit," Muhammad said. "It was amazing. It’s a great organization and I appreciate them for giving me the opportunity to go out there and do some great things. And I look forward to also playing against them."
The Lions signed Muhammad to their practice squad midway through the 2024 season after he'd been cut by the Cowboys at the end of training camp. He played his way onto the active roster and into a rotational role over the rest of the season, tallying three sacks in nine games. He got a bigger role last year after an injury to starting defensive end Marcus Davenport and made the most of it.
Detroit rarely played Muhammad against the run given his limitations in that department, but he made hay rushing the passer. He finished tied for 11th in the NFL in sacks. Among edge rushers, he was tied for 21st in QB pressures and tied for 25th in pass rush win rate, per PFF.
"Playing with a great defense and having some very unique guys around me, each game you have a little bit more success, you get more confident and more comfortable. And me and Aidan Hutchinson complemented each other really, really well, so that also plays a part in keeping that competitive nature. We were just talking about that: when I’m having success and he’s having success, feeding off each other and wanting to create that battle to get to the quarterback. And that’s definitely something we’re going to do here," he said.