Lions add QB Fromm, waive injured WR Greene

Allen Park — As discussed Sunday, the Detroit Lions felt compelled to add a quarterback to the roster while Hendon Hooker recovers from the concussion suffered in the team’s preseason opener. On Monday afternoon, they team announced the signing of former University of Georgia standout Jake Fromm.

A three-year starter for the Bulldogs, he completed 63.2% of his passes with 78 touchdowns to 18 interceptions. That led to Fromm being selected in the fifth round of the 2020 draft by the Buffalo Bills. He’s since spent time with the New York Giants and Washington Commanders. He’s only appeared in two regular season games, both in 2021, where he struggled and posted a 38.9 passer rating.

“He’s a smart, headsy guy,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “We feel like he’s going to be able to conduct the offense pretty fast, enough to be able to go out and help us if need be. He can anticipate all the throws, and just with where we’re at, we felt like he could come in and function. He’s someone we feel like can work in the pocket and he was fortunately available. Had his workout today and it looked pretty good, so we’ll see where it goes.”

In addition to Fromm, the Lions also added another linebacker to the roster, signing journeyman Ty Summers. A seventh-round choice out of TCU in 2019, the 6-foot-1, 241-pounder has had four stints with three NFL teams, most recently this offseason with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He’s appeared in 46 games during his career, primarily as a special teams performer.

To clear room on the roster, the Lions released guard Ike Boettger and waived injured receiver Antoine Green.

Boettger had been added to the offseason roster shortly before training camp, helping fill a hole while rookie Christian Mahogany battled an illness. The sixth-round draft pick recently rejoined the team, but is likely still a few days away from practicing while getting physically re-acclimated.

Green’s release is a mild surprise. A seventh-round selection in 2023, he had been battling for a roster spot after drawing praise from his coaches throughout the offseason. But he hadn’t had a strong camp prior to suffering a head/neck injury in the preseason opener.

The severity of that injury was a factor in the decision to waive Green.

“Yeah, that's something that we certainly had a number of doctors look at his scans and we felt like this was the best thing on our end, for him, and needed to do this,” Campbell said. “That's where it's at. We didn't want to do this. We love the kid, he's grinding, he's working, but that's a tough injury. It is.”

If Green clears waivers, he would revert to season-ending injured reserve. He could later be fully removed from the roster if he reaches an injury settlement with the Lions, which would make him eligible to sign with another team and play in 2024. In that scenario, he would only be able to re-sign and play for Detroit after the expiration of the injury settlement.