With Lions' Walker going to IR, team signs Pittman off practice squad

Allen Park — The Detroit Lions officially placed safety Tracy Walker on injured reserve Monday afternoon and signed linebacker Anthony Pittman to fill the roster spot.

Walker suffered a torn Achilles in the early stages of Sunday's game against the Vikings and will miss the rest of the season.

"Losing Tracy hurts," Lions coach Dan Campbell said Monday. "Since I walked in the door last year, he's been all-in. And he's one of our team captains this year. Nobody has put in more work than he has since the spring. He is one of the smartest players we have on defense. That's huge. And he's productive. And so you're losing a big cog in the piece that helps you over there. It'll hurt."

With plenty of safety depth in the form of JuJu Hughes, Ifeatu Melifonwu and rookie Kerby Joseph, the Lions opted to add a linebacker to the roster instead.

Pittman had already been temporarily elevated off the practice squad for Detroit's first three games, exhausting that eligibility. His 66 special-teams snaps in 2022 are the third-most for a Lions player, one year after leading the team with 378 reps with those groups.

A Wayne State and Birmingham Groves product, Pittman signed with the Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2019, bouncing between the team's active roster and practice squad the past three seasons. A versatile defender, he's played both off the ball and along the line of scrimmage in addition to his special-teams roles.