Lions add secondary depth, sign cornerback Mac McCain

The Detroit Lions added some depth at cornerback on Thursday, three weeks ahead of free agency, signing Mac McCain.

Most recently with the Philadelphia Eagles, McCain has split his brief, two-year professional career between there and Denver, where he initially signed as an undrafted free agent out of North Carolina A&T in 2021.

McCain spent most of last season on the Eagles practice squad, but didn't appear in a regular season game. He played in two the previous season, logging three tackles in 31 combined defensive and special teams snaps in the team's season finale against Dallas.

Listed at six-foot, 185 pounds, McCain showed a knack for making a play on the ball in college, recording eight interceptions his first two seasons, prior to suffering a torn ACL in 2019 and having his 2020 season cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

McCain attended the same university as Lions general manager Brad Holmes, who played football for the school and graduated in 2002.

McCain is notably the grandson of Franklin McCain, one of the Greensboro Four, who took part in a sit-in 1960 protest at a lunch counter, sparking large scale demonstrations throughout the area and paving the way for desegregation in the state of North Carolina.

jdrogers@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @Justin_Rogers