ALLEN PARK — The Detroit Lions have formally re-signed offensive lineman Michael Niese.
Niese was a free agent with exclusive rights who was supposedly offered by the team last month. However, as players arrived for offseason training, the agreement was finalized and announced on Tuesday.
The 27-year-old participated in all games for the Lions last season, recording 96 snaps on special teams and an additional 35 on offense. He has spent the past two years with the Lions following his time with the Denver Broncos, Chicago Bears, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Niese went unselected as a center from Temple via Dayton in 2021.
Niese adds depth at both guard and center for the offseason program and training camp. He is familiar with the coaching team and his fellow offensive linemen, making it an obvious choice to re-sign him. However, the team’s requirement for additional interior offensive line depth remains unchanged in this week’s NFL draft.
The Lions lost Kevin Zeitler to the Titans in free agency. Graham Glasgow and Christian Mahogany serve as their primary in-house guard options, along with Kayode Awosika, Niese, and possibly Giovanni Manu to evaluate if anything stands out.
It looks like you didn’t provide any text after ““ …”. Please provide the text you’d like me to paraphrase. “We still have to ensure he faces competition; bringing Yode (Awosika) back is one part of that, and we might also consider adding another veteran, plus there’s the draft,” said Lions general manager Brad Holmes earlier this month regarding the guard situation.
“See, I’m not claiming it will always be in the sixth round like when we obtained Mahogany, but you can never predict when we might secure one of those players.”