Report: Former Cardinals DL Roy Lopez headed to Detroit Lions

Former Arizona Cardinals nose tackle Roy Lopez will sign a one-year deal with the Detroit Lions, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported on Tuesday.

The contract for the interior defensive presence is worth $4.65 million.

The Cardinals approached free agency with a desire to retain the native Arizonan, according to Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro. Instead, Lopez will land in Detroit, where the Lions are fresh off a season as the NFC’s No. 1 seed.

The lineman just wrapped up his second season with Arizona, registering 1.0 sack, four tackles for loss, three passes defensed, a forced fumble and three QB hits across 16 games played (all starts) in 2024.

He would’ve helped shore up a position of need on the inside of the defensive line after the Cardinals added Josh Sweat to the outside of the line.

Roy Lopez’s NFL resume

After his time at Mesquite High School in Gilbert and with the Arizona Wildcats, Lopez was taken in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans.

He stuck around Houston for two seasons, starting 29 of 33 games, before he was waived/injured in 2023.

That led to Arizona swooping in and signing the former Texan to their practice squad before being promoted to the active roster days later.

In 30 games (21 starts) with Arizona, Lopez has one sack, six tackles for loss, three passes defensed and a forced fumble in two seasons.

Arizona Sports’ Tyler Drake contributed to this story.

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