For assistance on the defensive end of the ball, the Detroit Lions are turning to their friends in the north. The organization made the announcement that linebacker Mathieu Betts had joined on Tuesday. Quebec native Betts won the Most Outstanding Defensive Player title from the Canadian Football League the previous season and was named an All-Star.
The 28-year-old Betts finished 2023 with 44 total tackles, 18 sacks, and four forced fumbles in 18 games for the BC Lions. His CFL record of eighteen quarterback takedowns was set. The Edmonton Eskimos picked Laval University product Betts with the third overall choice in the 2019 CFL Draft.
Betts is listed at 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds on the official BC Lions website, which could help to explain why Detroit called him a linebacker rather than a defensive lineman. In summary, Betts is able to rush the passer. In 2019, Betts signed as an undrafted free agent with the Chicago Bears before to being picked into the CFL. But before the regular season started, he was cut. He now has another opportunity to compete for a position on the NFC North squad by switching from one Lions team to the other.
Last season, the Detroit Lions were No. 19 in total defense and No. 23 in scoring defense. With 12 regular-season victories in 2023, they matched a team record and captured the NFC North for the first time. Before losing to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game, Dan Campbell’s team defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the divisional round and the Los Angeles Rams during Super Wild Card Weekend.
