With Alim McNeill and C.J. Gardner-Johnson slated to return to the Lions' lineup Sunday, the club had to make a hard decision to create room on the roster.
Defensive tackle Isaiah Buggs is being waived.
In a post shared Tuesday afternoon on X, Buggs thanked the city of Detroit "for everything the past year" and said "the time has come for me to say goodbye. Detroit 96 Out."
Buggs played in 10 games for the Lions this season, registering 12 tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack and one pass defended. The highlight of his season came in Detroit's win over Denver two weeks ago when he recovered a fumble and rumbled 33 yards on the return. The 335-pound behemoth was a popular player in the Lions locker room.
He joined the team last summer after four seasons with the Steelers and grew into a big role up front, starting 13 games and playing 67 percent of the defensive snaps. The Lions rewarded him with a two-year, $4.5 million deal that will carry a minimal $500,000 dead cap hit next season.
Buggs' role was reduced this year, which was clear when he was scratched for the first two games of the season. He started only three games, was inactive for six and played just 40 percent of the snaps when he was in the lineup. He had one tackle in his last four games.
With McNeill, Detroit's top defensive tackle, set to return in the season finale from his knee injury, Buggs was a natural player to be let go. He only played in the past four games because McNeill was on injured reserve; he had been inactive for five of the six games prior.
The Lions also plan to activate Gardner-Johnson on Sunday after the star defensive back missed most of the season following surgery to a torn pec. They want to have both Gardner-Johnson and McNeill as ready as possible for the first game of the playoffs.