One of the more head-turning cuts the Detroit Lions made on cutdown day on Tuesday involved 2025 sixth-round pick, edge rusher Ahmed Hassanein.
According to the team's official website, Hassanein has been waived with an injury settlement. However, this might not be the end of his time in Detroit.
As Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press notes, Hassanein can return to the Lions when he's healthy and after the settlement period has passed.
Hassanein was dealing with a pec injury suffered in preseason Week 2 and was expected to miss time. Head coach Dan Campbell didn't rule out the Boise State product missing the entire season, also.
"That’s a good question," Campbell said when asked about Hassanein returning this season. "I don’t have that answer yet."
The move benefits the Lions in a few ways.
Had they placed Hassanein on injured reserve before the cutdown deadline, he would have to miss the entire season.
If they were to place Hassanein on injured reserve after the deadline, he would be able to return this season but Detroit would've had to use a roster spot on him initially before placing him on the list.
Furthermore, activating Hassanein from injured reserve later in the season would have forced the Lions to use one of their return from IR designations, which are practically gold for a Detroit team that was plagued by injuries last season.
The only risk is a team can claim him on Wednesday, but it's rare for a player waived with an injury settlement to get picked up by another team.
Hassanein was slated to serve in a backup role for Detroit in his first season prior to his injury. The rookie showed some flashes in training camp and had some good moments during the preseason.
We would expect him to be back in Detroit once healthy.
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