Dwight Freeney is moving from one NFC wild-card contender to the next. ESPN's Adam Scehfter reported Wednesday that Freeney landed with the Lions a day after getting cut by the Seahawks, which means he'll be reuniting with Jim Caldwell.
Can’t wait to unite with my former head coach Jim Caldwell and play for the @Lions!! #reunion #letsgetit
— Dwight Freeney (@dwightfreeney) November 22, 2017
That's a heck of a late-season move by the Lions, who are in the middle of a playoff push. Freeney, 37, thrived in Seattle, notching three sacks in four games, even though he was only on the field for 101 snaps. According to Pro Football Focus, he also generated two hits, seven hurries and one batted pass. In Freeney's illustrious career, most of which he spent with the Colts, he has 125.5 sacks -- the 17th most all time.
His release didn't just surprise us. It also surprised him.
Completely confused to be in this situation but excited for the future.
— Dwight Freeney (@dwightfreeney) November 22, 2017
The Lions could use another pass rusher. They've accumulated only 21 sacks this season -- tied for 20th in the NFL. Anthony Zettel and Ziggy Ansah are responsible for 10 of those sacks. No one else on the team has more than 2.5 sacks.
Dwight Freeney has 3 sacks in 101 snaps.
— Prater of Detroit (@PrideOfDetroit) November 21, 2017
Cornelius Washington and Jeremiah Valoaga have a combined 3.5 sacks on 444 snaps.
And the Lions are surging. They've won three straight to push their record to 6-4. Even though they own the same record as the Falcons and Seahawks, the Falcons hold the final wild-card spot in the NFC due to a head-to-head tiebreaker.
But the Lions are very much alive, both in the wild-card race and in the division. They are two games back of the Vikings in the NFC North, already beat them once, and will face them one more time on Thanksgiving. If he can get ready for the game in time, Freeney should help break through a Vikings offensive line that has allowed an NFL-low 10 sacks.