DETROIT – The Detroit Lions turned some heads this week when they added veteran pass rusher Bruce Irvin.
Irvin, 36, has been in the NFL for the past 11 seasons, racking up 55.5 sacks and 343 total tackles. He had 3.5 sacks and nine quarterback hits in 11 games for the Seattle Seahawks last season.
Irvin was officially added to the practice squad at 12:33 p.m. Wednesday -- three days after the Lions’ defense allowed 38 points and registered zero sacks against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Head coach Dan Campbell was asked why the Lions decided to make the move.
“Let’s get some veteran guys,” Campbell said. “We feel like it’s hard to find players as the season goes on here that you may need.”
He said that was the same mindset that led to the additions of offensive lineman Michael Schofield and cornerback Kindle Vildor to the practice squad on Tuesday.
“That gives us some veteran guys that have played some football that we have interest in,” Campbell said. “They have versatility, and that’s really what it is right now. Let’s see where it is.
“Bruce, for example, he came in, gave us a little workout yesterday. Enough to see where he’s at. He’s got superhuman genes, by the way. This guy takes great care of himself. But he’s not in football shape. He’s in shape, but he’s not in football shape, so we’ve got to get him there first and we’ll see where it goes.”
The Lions took some criticism when they didn’t add a pass rusher at the NFL trade deadline. At times, the defense has struggled to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
“You can never have too many rushers in your building,” Campbell said. “It brings a guy who we’ll just see what it is. He still certainly shows that he’s got a quick first step, he’s got power, and he can bend. We’ll see where it is.
“Most of the games we’ve played this year, our pressure’s been very good. We’re getting to the quarterback. Then, we’ve had a couple of games where it doesn’t. I think we’ve got to be careful that we aren’t judging everything off one or two times here.”