Lions strengthen cornerback squad by signing Wildgoose
The Detroit Lions were looking for a new cornerback and found one in Rachad Wildgoose.
The Lions announced Wednesday the signing of Wildgoose, a 24-year-old who briefly retired from the game in 2023 to pursue a career in YouTube before signing with the Birmingham Stallions of the UFL earlier this summer.
Wildgoose was a sixth-round pick out of Wisconsin and selected by the Buffalo Bills in 2021. He has made 20 regular-season appearances, five with the New York Jets and 15 with the Washington Commanders, for whom he most recently played.
After completing training camp with the Bills as a rookie, Wildgoose was signed to the practice squad and signed by the Jets. He played in five games as a rookie and played 21% of Washington’s defensive snaps the following year.
Fight for places along the inner
Flexibility or experience? That is the question for the Lions head coach Daniel Campbell and Managing Director Brad Holmes as the day of squad reduction approaches.
Between options like Kayode Awosika, Kingsley Eguacu And Michael NieseDetroit has options for depth along the inside of its offensive line. Eguakun and Niese can play both center and guard, giving the Lions some versatility. Awosika is entering his fourth season, making him the most experienced of all; Eguakun is a rookie and Niese is entering his third year.
“Yeah, that could be,” Campbell said Wednesday when asked if he thinks Awosika, Eguakun and Niese are all fighting for a spot on the roster. “I mean, Brad and I have argued about that too: ‘How many linemen do we keep? What’s the point? Is one of those linemen potentially more important than one of those safeties, a safety down low, or does it come down to a fullback or tight end?’
“So that’s what we’re constantly playing. What’s the best roster? Can one player fill two spots or is it worth keeping all three? I honestly don’t have an answer to that. We’re in the middle of it and I think it will work itself out once we get past Pittsburgh.”
Eguakun was a three-year starting center for Florida but missed most of the 2023 season due to an ankle injury.
“He’s a guy that definitely caught our eye,” Campbell said of Eguakun. “He’s put in a lot of work. He’s pretty polished for a young guy, he’s got good feet, he’s quick, he’s smart, he’s tough. So we’ll just let him play a couple of times and see how it looks. He didn’t look out of place yesterday (at guard). He’s going to play a lot more at that position today. So, we like Kingsley, he works his ass off.”
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