Pride of Detroit
On Monday, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell revealed that veteran offensive tackle Jamarco Jones is out for the season with an ankle injury suffered during last week’s practice. It appears they have found a potential replacement.
According to his agency, offensive tackle Devin Cochran has signed with the Lions. At this point, because the transaction is unofficial, it’s unclear if Cochran is signing to the 53-man roster or the practice squad. There is an open spot on the practice squad after the Lions signed running back Jacob Saylors to the active roster on Saturday, but if the Lions were to sign Cochran to the 53-man roster, it would require a corresponding move, as the Lions are currently at the maximum.
Cochran is a massive human being, standing at 6-foot-7, 330 pounds, nearly matching the size of Giovanni Manu (6-foot-7, 350). He went undrafted in 2022 and spent the next three seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals. His first season was entirely on their practice squad. He lost his 2023 season to a knee injury.
But last year, he was finally called up from the practice squad and made nine game appearances for the Bengals, including one start at left tackle. Additionally, he logged 83 snaps at right tackle as a mid-game fill-in over three games. Over 100 pass blocking snaps, PFF charged him with eight pressures allowed, one sack, and a 50.8 pass blocking grade. Per PFF, he was slightly more successful over 52 run blocking snaps, earning a 57.5 grade.
Cochran didn’t make the Bengals’ 53-man roster in 2025, but did sign with their practice squad initially. However, he was cut shortly thereafter.
The Lions are currently going through some depth issues at offensive tackle. With Jones out for the year, practice squad tackle Dan Skipper is likely their best option, but he missed all of last week’s practice with an undisclosed injury. That left second-year developmental tackle Giovanni Manu to serve as the primary backup against the Packers in Week 1.
We’ll update this post when there is an official announcement of this signing.
