The Lions have signed 29-year old DT Jovan Haye.  Haye played in 14 games for the Titans last year and he had 31 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 tackle for a loss.  He has played in 69 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 181 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 6.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 4 fumble recoveries and 4 passes defensed.  The Lions need some help on the D-Line, so this was a good pickup for them.

UPDATE:  (12/13/2011) – The Lions have released Jovan Haye.  He played against the Vikings last week and he had 2 tackles.

The Lions have signed 26-year old DT Keyunta Dawson.  Dawson played in all 16 games for the Colts last year and he had 31 tackles, 1 fumble recovery and 1 pass defensed.  He has now played in 58 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has 113 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 5 fumble recoveries, 2 passes defensed and 2 tackles for a loss.  Dawson will get a couple of weeks to show that he belongs in the NFL.

UPDATE:  (12/22/2011) – The Lions have waived Keyunta Dawson.  Dawson played in 2 games for the Lions this year and he had 1 tackle.

The Lions have signed 26-year old RB Aaron Brown.  Brown played in 6 games for the Lions last year and he carried the ball 17 times for 58 yards (3.4 ypc).  He also caught 8 passes for 45 yards (5.6 avg) last year for the Lions.  Brown has played in 21 games in his first two years with the Lions and he has carried the ball 44 times for 189 yards (4.3 ypc).  He also has caught 17 passes for 129 yards (7.6 avg) with 1 TD grab for the Lions.  Brown won’t likely get a lot of P.T. unless the Lions suffer more injuries at RB.

The Lions have signed 38-year old punter Ben Graham.  Graham played in 1 game for the Cardinals earlier this year and he has punted the ball 5 times for 212 yards (42.4 avg).  He pinned the opposition inside their own 20-yard line 2 times (40%) in his game with the Cardinals earlier this year.  Graham has now played in 89 games in his first 7 years in the NFL and he has punted the ball 434 times for 19,178 yards (44.2 avg).  He has also pinned the opposing team inside their own 20-yard line 150 games (34.6%) and he has 36 touchbacks (8.3%) so far in his NFL career.  The Lions have released punter Robert Malone, who was awful against the Bears last weekend.  This is a clear upgrade for the Lions.

The Detroit Lions have re-signed 24-year old RB Kevin Smith.  Smith played in 6 games for the Lions last year and he carried the ball 34 times for 133 yards (3.9 ypc).  He also caught 11 passes for 123 yards (11.2 avg) for the Lions last year.  Smith has played in 35 games in his first three years with the Lions and he has carried the ball 489 times for 1,856 yards (3.8 ypc) with 12 TD runs.  He has also caught 91 passes for 824 yards (9.1 avg) with 1 TD grab for the Lions.  Smith will likely be the #3 RB for the Lions behind Maurice Morris and Keiland Williams.

The Lions have signed 33-year old OG Leonard Davis.  Davis is a mammoth 6’6′, 350 pound mauler in the running game.  He played in 16 games (all starts) with the Cowboys last year.  He has now played in 155 games (all starts) in his first 10 years in the NFL.  Don’t be surprised if Davis is thrown right into the fire this Sunday when the Lions have a showdown in Chicago against the division rival Bears.

The Lions have signed 24-year old safety Don Carey.  Carey played in 15 games for the Jaguars last year and he had 55 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 interception and 1 pass defensed.  The Lions need help defensively, so I like this signing for them.  Carey played solid football for the Jaguars in his first taste of the NFL and he should give them depth in the secondary, while also helping out on special teams.

The Lions have signed 26-year old RB Eldra Buckley.  Buckley played in all 16 games for the Eagles last year and he carried the ball 21 times for 67 yards (3.2 ypc).  He also caught 1 pass for 10 yards last year.  Buckley has now played in 32 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 36 times for 111 yards (3.1 ypc) with 1 TD grab.  He has also caught 1 pass for 10 yards in his career.  Buckley is also a really solid special teams player as he has 19 tackles and 3 forced fumbles in his career.  With Jerome Harrison done for the year and Jahvid Best likely out multiple weeks with the concussion, this signing makes perfect sense.

The Lions have signed 25-year old RB James Davis to the practice squad.  Davis played in 7 games (0 starts) for the Redskins & Browns last year and he carried the ball 19 times for 60 yards (3.2 ypc).  He also caught 4 passes for 45 yards (11.3 avg) last year.  This was a good move for the Lions as they continue to add depth to their RB corps.

The Lions have signed 29-year old guard Daniel Loper.  Loper played in 10 games (4 starts) for the Raiders last year.  He has now played in 58 games (9 starts) in this first six years in the NFL.  This was a good move for the Lions as Loper will give them some quality depth are guard going forward.