The Detroit Lions will return both of its starting safeties at the end of the 2023 season. However, they could benefit from some additional safety depth. To meet that need, the Lions will look to veteran safety C.J. Moore.
On May 7, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport announced that the Lions have signed Moore to a one-year contract. Moore previously played with the Lions but missed the entire 2023 season due to a gambling penalty.
“Free agent safety C.j. Moore is re-signing with the Lions on a 1-year deal, source said,” Rapoport wrote on Twitter. “After serving a gambling suspension that took away his 2023, Moore is back in Detroit.”
Moore signed with the Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2019. He spent four seasons in Detroit before the Lions released him on April 21, 2023. The team terminated Moore on the same day that the NFL suspended him indefinitely for breaching the league’s gambling policy.
Moore’s crimes included placing bets on NFL games.
Moore recorded 48 total tackles and two quarterback hits between 2019 and 22. He also recorded two pass defenses, one interception, and one fumble recovery.
Moore spent the majority of his time with the Lions on special teams across four seasons. He also lined up for 344 defensive snaps.
Lions sign C.J. Moore, one year after releasing him.
When Detroit dismissed Moore in April 2023, it was unclear whether he would ever play in the NFL again, let alone for the Lions.
Moore was one of three Lions players who were released or waived during the 2023 offseason due to gambling infractions. The other two players were wide receivers Quintez Cephus and Stanley Berryhill.
The NFL punished Moore and Cephus indefinitely, while Berryhill was suspended for six games. The NFL also punished Detroit wide receiver Jameson Williams, who stayed with the Lions and returned last season after missing four games.
According to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, the NFL reinstated Moore and four other players who had been suspended indefinitely for gambling infractions. His former teammate, Cephus, had already signed with the Buffalo Bills on April 28.
Moore has only started one game in his NFL career. That occurred during Week 15 of the 2021 season.
Moore made career highs in 2021, with 22 combined tackles, including 13 solos. That season, he also had one interception and played 158 defensive snaps, a career high.
Moore finished 2022 with 12 total tackles, 1 quarterback hit, and 1 pass defense. He played 106 defensive snaps and 224 special teams snaps.
Lions’ Safety Depth Moore’s signing gives the Lions much-needed safety depth.
This offseason, Detroit parted ways with veterans Tracy Walker, Will Harris, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Kerby Joseph and Ifeatu Melifonwu will return, reuniting the team’s starting safeties from the end of the regular season. However, without those three veterans, Detroit was concerned about its safety depth heading into the offseason.
Before Moore was signed, Brandon Joseph was the only other safety on the Lions’ roster, barring undrafted free agents. In 2023, however, Brandon Joseph played no defense and only 14 special teams snaps.
Re-signing Moore provides the Lions with a dependable defensive player who should help considerably on special teams.
Moore has played at least 224 special teams snaps in each of his four NFL seasons. In 2021 and 2022, he also played more than 100 defensive snaps.
