The Detroit Lions signed Marcus Gilchrist to their defense on Thursday but his time with the team didn't last long. Just a day before the Lions face the New York Giants, Detroit has released Gilchrist per Kyle Meinke.

The veteran safety was released by the team to make room for Steve Longa, a linebacker on their practice squad. Gilchrist didn't even have time to get acclimated in the locker room before he was thrown back into free agency.

Before joining the Lions, Gilchrist had spent the 2018 season with the Oakland Raiders. In his 16 starts with the Raiders last year, he was able to combine for 58 tackles, six pass deflections, and three interceptions.

Detroit signed Gilchrist to provide some depth at safety following the trade that sent Quandre Diggs to the Seattle Seahawks. Diggs was the starting strong safety for the Lions and was voted a team captain in 2019. Therefore, it's a bit of a surprise that Detroit didn't even give Gilchrist a chance to play.

With Diggs being traded, veteran Tavon Wilson will become the Lions' starting strong safety. But without Gilchrist, Matt Patricia doesn't have much depth in his secondary moving forward.

Nevertheless, Patricia viewed Longa as more of a need on the roster at the strong-side linebacker spot. Longa has spent the past three seasons with the Lions after being signed by the Seahawks as an undrafted rookie in 2016.

The undrafted linebacker out of Rutgers will be the backup to Christian Jones on the Lions defense. Following Sunday's game versus the Giants, Patricia could regret cutting Gilchrist if his secondary shows any sign of struggling.