The Detroit Lions are finalizing a deal with former Pro Bowl defensive tackle Mike Daniels, who was released by the Green Bay Packers earlier this week, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The 30-year-old Daniels, who was a fourth-round pick out of Iowa in 2012, had been a perennial starter for the Packers prior to his release, starting 72 of 102 games in his career and all but one of the games he played in since the start of the 2014 season.
He received interest from close to a dozen teams, including the Cleveland Browns and Lions.
Daniels, a Pro Bowler in 2017, has 29 career sacks, three fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles. He should bolster an already strong defensive line rotation for Detroit that features Damon Harrison, who is considered one of the NFL’s top run-stoppers, along with Da’Shawn Hand, A’Shawn Robinson and rookie PJ Johnson. It’s unclear how second-year Lions coach Matt Patricia will use Daniels, but if he lined up on one of the edges, he could join a group including top-dollar free-agent signing Trey Flowers and Romeo Okwara.
Harrison has yet to practice with Detroit during camp after missing all of the spring and is on the non-football injury list. Flowers has yet to practice and is on the physically unable to perform list. Robinson has missed the first two days of training camp to deal with what Patricia called a “personal issue,” although the coach said he expects Robinson to return soon.