3 ex-Lions veterans, including Darius Slay, all waived by other teams

Tuesday was a busy one on the NFL's transaction wire for a trio of former Lions who have moved on in their careers. All three were waived by their latest teams, making them available for the Lions--or any other NFL team--to claim.

Darius Slay

The biggest name is longtime Lions starting CB and Pro Bowler Darius Slay. The Pittsburgh Steelers waived Slay to make room for claiming veteran wideout Adam Thielen off waivers from the Vikings. Slay had recently fallen out of Pittsburgh's playing rotation, with the 12-year vet a healthy scratch in Sunday's loss to the Bills. Reports from Pittsburgh indicate Slay and the Steelers mutually agreed to part ways.

It's not a surprising move, given how Slay had been playing in his first season in Pittsburgh,

Slay was one of the Steelers big free-agent signings of the offseason. However, Slay's inability to stay healthy and his struggles to keep up with the speed in the NFL made him a liability on the Steelers defense. Pittsburgh's defense has struggled all season long, with the cornerback position being a weak point much of the season.

Slay was a 2013 second-round pick by the Lions and played his first seven years in Detroit. He earned Pro Bowl nods in each of his final three years with the Lions, ending in 2019. Now 34, Slay was allowing a completion rate over 70 percent and a QB Rating of over 126.0 when targeted in 2025.

Laken Tomlinson

Tomlinson was waived by the Houston Texans, who no longer had a use for the burly veteran guard. Signed this offseason on a one-year deal, Tomlinson played his way out of Houston's lineup, resulting in a healthy scratch the last two weeks after being the Texans' starting left guard for the first seven games. He's not played since Week 9.

Detroit's first-round pick in 2015, Tomlinson has bounced around since the Lions traded him following the 2016 season for a fifth-round pick. The Texans were his fourth team in five seasons. He's been a durable starter, albeit a statistically average/below average one, for most of his career.

Jermar Jefferson

A running back who was a seventh-round pick by the Lions in 2021, Jefferson struggled to get looks in his three-plus years in Detroit. Between injuries and a logjam at his position, Jefferson managed just 21 carries for 96 yards in parts of three seasons in Detroit. After two games of playing exclusively on special teams with the Arizona Cardinals this year, the Cards parted ways with the 25-year-old RB.

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This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: 3 ex-Lions veterans, including Darius Slay, all waived by other teams