Last year, the Lions had the highest number of gambling sanctions of any team. As a result, there were multiple layoffs, Jameson Williams’ October debut, and numerous staff reductions.

Following a gambling suspension, C.J. Moore was one of the players released by the Lions; despite having re-signed him a month earlier, the veteran special team member was cut in April of last year. Moore will get another opportunity from the team, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, who reports that the parties arrived at a compromise on Tuesday.

This occurs soon after Moore and the other four players who were banned in 2023 were restored by the NFL. It was discovered that Moore, 28, had placed an NFL wager while on team property. Moore had been an important special-team player for the Lions under Matt Patricia and later Dan Campbell, but the team has moved on from the other members of its non-Williams faction of gambling rules offenders, including defensive tackle Demetrius Taylor and wide receivers Quintez Cephus and Stanley Berryhill. The group will approve a second opportunity.

In March 2023, the Lions reached an agreement to re-sign Moore for a two-year, $4.5MM contract. Between 2019 and 22 and on between 68 and 78% of Detroit’s special teams plays, the former Ole Miss UDFA saw action. Moore also cleared 300 ST snaps in 2021, but his highest total was 321 snaps in 2019. In 2021 and 2022, he participated in over 100 defensive plays, and in 2021, he made an interception of a throw.

The Lions did not select a safety in the draft, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson left to sign with the Eagles again in free agency. Using its best draft picks, the squad selected two corners in the first two rounds (Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw Jr.). Starting safety players Kerby Joseph and Ifeatu Melifonwu are still on the Lions roster; Moore is expected to return to his backup position in 2024 following a noteworthy career setback.