The Detroit Lions are reportedly waiving safety Ian Kennelly, according to NFL insider Aaron Wilson.
Kennelly went undrafted this year, but was a fascinating story to watch during training camp. From local college Grand Valley State, Kennelly slowly worked his way up the depth chart throughout training camp and even saw significant work with the starting special teams unit.
But it was always going to be a tough climb for the rookie. The Lions have their two starting safeties set in Brian Branch and
Kerby Joseph. Additionally, they have several veterans who are versatile enough to drop back and play safety, including Rock Ya-Sin and Avonte Maddox. There may be room for another safety on the roster, which could mean Loren Strickland beat out Kennelly for the job, but that remains to be seen.
Kennelly is subject to waivers, but if he clears, he seems like a strong candidate to return on the practice squad.
Additionally, wide receiver Tom Kennedy is reportedly getting waived, per Dave Birkett. Kennedy has been with the Lions in some form or fashion since 2019. The Lions have valued his overall dependency and his ability to run scout teams in practice. He, too, is a strong candidate to return on the practice squad.
Finally, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Lions are waiving defensive end Mitchell Agude. While the Lions have a need behind their top three defensive ends (Aidan Hutchinson, Marcus Davenport, and Al-Quadin Muhammad), Agude had fallen behind in the depth chart. It looks like that job could be between Nate Lynn and Isaac Ukwu at this point, but there is always the chance Detroit finally re-signs Za’Darius Smith.
The Lions’ roster cuts are well underway now. Check out all of the reported cuts with our 2025 53-man roster tracker.
