Detroit Lions re-sign Hyder and Mulbach

The Detroit Lions have re-signed defensive lineman Kerry Hyder and long snapper Don Mulbach

The Detroit Lions have made a pair of moves that were not particularly surprising today. The first was to re-sign exclusive rights free agent Kerry Hyder. The second move was to bring back immortal long snapper Don Mulbach.

Hyder is coming off an entire season lost to injury. He tore his achilles tendon in the Lions preseason game against the Indianapolis colts. The 2017 Lions pass rush sorely missed 2016’s team leader in sacks, Hyder had eight during the previous campaign. He was viewed as the key player in turning the Lions pass rush from the Ziggy Ansah show to a group effort. The Lions pass rush did marginally improve from 2016 to 2017, but the loss of Hyder limited that growth. Hyder was expected to match or exceed the 658 snaps he logged in 2016. If he has recovered well from his surgery, Hyder could be in the mix to start for the team in 2018. He has experience in both 3-4 and 4-3 fronts.

Don Mulbach continues his career for at least one more season, which is a good thing for Lions fans. Anecdotally, I can not remember the last time the Lions had a bad snap. Bob Quinn drafted a replacement for Mulbach in 2016, in the form of Jimmy Landes. The difference in quality between Mulbach and his competition was vast and immediately apparent. The Detroit Lions will continue to bring Mulbach to camp until that changes.

Next: Lions need to stay away from Sherman

These are merely appetizers for Lions fans. The team has been quiet in a very busy trade market in the lead up to March 12. That is not likely to continue for an indefinite period. The Lions have holes to fill in the lead up to April’s draft, and these are minor signings.