The Detroit Lions added veteran depth along the defensive line on Tuesday, signing defensive tackle Tyson Alualu, according to Tom Pelissero. The move comes in correspondence with the injury to starter Alim McNeill, who the Lions placed on injured reserve with a knee sprain. He'll miss at least four games, with the earliest possible return date being Week 18.

Alualu found himself without a job all year long after playing in every game for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2022. The 36-year-old expressed a desire to remain in Pittsburgh but the Steelers decided to move on after six seasons. He recorded a half a sack, two QB hits and 13 total tackles in 2022.

A first-round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, Alualu started 113 of the 191 NFL games he played during the first 13 seasons of his career. Splitting time with the Steelers and Jacksonville Jaguars, Alualu has 25 sacks, 70 QB hits and 15 pass deflections in his NFL career. He played every game in nine of his 13 seasons.

Lions bit by injury bug

The Lions lost a lot of players during last Sunday's game, but it appears McNeill got the worst of it. Detroit is doing a nice job of filling in the gaps left by injuries, but players like McNeill are hard to replace.

The third-year pro has yet to miss a game in his NFL career and was having his best season yet. He recorded five sacks, nine QB hits and 31 tackles in 12 games, playing at least 60 percent of Detriot's defensive snaps in every game.

The Lions are luckily in a good spot as the season hits a crucial point, entering Week 14 with a three-game cushion in the NFC North. If there was ever a time to lose some players, now might not be the worst time for Detroit. The Lions could clinch the division before Christmas and put their sights on the NFC's No. 1 seed as players start to get back at the end of the month.

Sometimes veteran additions late in the season can boost a team's morale. Perhaps Tyson Alualu will provide that spark for the Lions after losing a key player.