Well, that was fast. Just a day after the Detroit Lions signed defensive end Robert Ayers to a contract, the team decided on Tuesday that the veteran is not part of their future plans anymore, with Michael Rothstein of ESPN reporting that the NFC North team has now released the pass rusher.
The Lions have released DE Robert Ayers.
— Michael Rothstein (@mikerothstein) August 28, 2018
To get waived after just a short period of time demands some explanation, but the Lions have yet to reveal what exactly caused Ayers’ release. Speculations may range from a health issue that went undetected prior to the signing to a disagreement between the two sides.
In any case, Ayers is back looking for work in the NFL again, with this stint with the Lions turning out to be nothing more than a great trivia question for hardcore football fans.
What’s adding to the confusion of Ayers’ release is the fact that he was supposed to address one of the team’s biggest issue. Over the team’s first three games in the preseason, the Lions were only able to come up with one sack – tied with the Kansas City Chiefs for fewest in the league this August.
Robert Ayers last appeared in a game in 2017 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played 12 games for the Bucs last year and recorded just two sacks to go with 20 tackles.
