Getty

The Detroit Lions keep getting linked to one NFL player, but now, they're getting told snagging him may be a mistake.

The Detroit Lions just earned a big boost for a 2025 draft pick who may need more time adjusting to the NFL.

The team had petitioned the NFL for a roster exemption for edge rusher Ahmed Hassanein, who spent his rookie season on the practice squad without ever getting a call-up to the active roster. The league granted the request, giving the Lions a key roster advantage for the upcoming season.

As Vito Chirco of SI.com reported, the Lions requested the NFL to consider Hassanein part of the International Pathways Program.

“The International Player Pathway Program – established in 2017 – is designed for players born outside the United States and Canada, who have played no more than two years of high school football in the U.S., to get a chance in the NFL,” Chirco wrote. “As a result of this international player exemption, the Lions will enter training camp with 91 open roster spots instead of the traditional 90.”

The Lions argued that Chirco played one of his years of high school football during COVID-19, asking for an exemption to consider that a lost year. The NFL granted the request, making the Egyptian-born Hassanein eligible to be part of the program.

The exemption means that Hassanein can remain on the practice squad as an extra player, though he would not be eligible to play in any games this season.

“If Hassanein makes the team’s season-opening 53-man roster, then the roster exemption goes by the wayside and the EDGE defender is treated just like any other player,” Chirco wrote. “However, if he fails to make the 53-man roster this summer and ends up on the practice squad, the Lions would obtain a 17th practice squad spot.”