The Detroit Lions are looking for a kick returner once again.
The Lions placed backup running back Justin Jackson on the reserved/retired list Thursday, three weeks after they re-signed Jackson on an incentive-laden one-year deal.
Jackson was the favorite to win the No. 3 running back job and play a key role on special teams. He ranked fourth in the NFL in kick return yardage last season among players with at least 20 returns and was working this summer as Jack Fox’s personal protector on the team’s top punt unit.
“He’s been great,” Lions special teams coordinator Dave Fipp said last week. “We put him in the personal protector position. That was obviously a concern for us when C.J. (Moore) was (released after being suspended), but he’s done a great job of that. I’ve been pleasantly surprised. He did do that when he was with the Chargers out there in L.A, so he’s had some experience doing that. So it wasn’t brand new for him, but yeah, we feel really good about him doing that right now.”
SAFETY BATTLE: Brian Branch’s emergence could make Tracy Walker a backup in Lions’ new-look secondary
Jackson, who ran for 170 yards on 42 carries last season, told the Free Press this summer he would have been content to not play this season had the Lions or another NFL team not offered him something more than a veteran minimum-type contract.
The Lions are counting on David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs to share the backfield load this fall. Craig Reynolds, Jermar Jefferson and Mohamed Ibrahim also are on the roster, and the Lions signed Devine Ozigbo on Wednesday and Benny Snell Jr. on Thursday.
The Lions also waived offensive guard Logan Stenberg, a fourth-round pick in 2020, and made the signing of backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater official.
With Stenberg gone, the Lions have just two players on their roster remaining from the 2020 draft, third-round picks Jonah Jackson and Julian Okwara. Jackson is entering the final year of his contract but could be in line for an extension as an important cog on one of the NFL’s best lines, while Okwara is fighting for a roster spot.
Bridgewater, who is expected to back up quarterback Jared Goff this fall, will not play in Friday’s preseason opener against the New York Giants.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.