Lions Sign Former Cowboys LS Following Season-Cending Injury to Starter
A familiar face is returning for the Detroit Lions following long snapper Scott Daly’s season-ending injury.
On November 1, the Lions signed Jake McQuaide to the practice squad, as reported by Jeff Risdon of USA Today’s Lions Wire. After losing to Daly for the starting spot during training camp, McQuaide was cut loose by the Lions in August.
Despite being signed to the practice squad at first, McQuaide, a veteran of the Dallas Cowboys, may wind up becoming a key member of a Lions club that is aiming for its first divisional championship in almost 20 years.
Detroit: Jake McQuaide’s Second Chance
McQuaide faced a difficult assignment against Daly despite having the opportunity to win the long snapper position on the squad when he arrived with the Lions in March. The Notre Dame product, a former undrafted free agent, was well-liked by coaches and had spent the previous two seasons as long snapper in Detroit.
Speaking to reporters on August 5, Lions special teams coach Dave Fipp stated that, following some shaky play in 2022, he wanted Daly to have some competition. However, Daly ultimately prevailed in the competition between McQuaide and himself during training camp.
“Daly has done a good job since he’s been here, but I felt like personally last season—and he and I have talked about this—he didn’t make the progress we were hoping for from him the year before,” Fipp remarked. “We believed he improved, but competition can sometimes hasten that process,” the player said.
That Daly would keep his job wasn’t always a given. The Athletic’s Colton Pouncy pointed out that the Pro Bowler McQuaide was a significant addition to the Lions.
This is going to be a war, Pouncy wrote. “Good teams are always looking for ways to improve.”
According to Pouncy, teams seldom make changes at long snapper and frequently retain players for extended periods of time, so the Lions’ decision to bring in Daly’s competition was noteworthy.
“Teams don’t typically bring in competition at long snapper, so Daly, the incumbent, should not assume his spot is safe,” Pouncy wrote.
Lions Add Something Else
At the trade deadline, the Lions added wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones from the Cleveland Browns, marking their second addition of the week. Despite experiencing a decline in output following a career-high season in 2022, Peoples-Jones’ wide receiving corps spot was identified by Lions head coach Dan Campbell.
According to the team website, Campbell stated, “I always feel like you’re one injury away.” “That was a position we felt we should look into and see if we could acquire, if we could find a steady, reliable guy that fits us and could play outside.”
“We felt that the DPJ (People-Jones) out there truly fit us. We like him that way. He can play a variety of positions and is intelligent. He performs for them everywhere. We simply think he’ll fit in well.
Sports writer Nathan Dougherty works for Heavy, covering the Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills. Prior to that, he worked as an assistant editor for the athletic trade publications Coaching Management, Athletic Management, and Training & Conditioning, as well as a writer for the Rochester Business Journal. Based in Rochester, New York, he has an intense passion for all things football. Additional information about Nathan Dougherty
