The Detroit Lions have released Canadian defensive end Mathieu Betts on Tuesday as NFL teams make their final roster cuts. Betts led the CFL in sacks in 2023 which saw him named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player.

Betts played in all 3 of the Detroit Lion’s preseason games accumulating 2 solo tackles and a sack which came in the 2nd game. He applied pressure on 2 separate plays in the final preseason game this past Saturday against Pittsburgh by my count.

Detroit Lions’ Head Coach Dan Campbell spoke highly of Betts on August 5 speaking of his improvement since joining Detroit. However, he was unable to be one of the 53 players to make the roster during final cuts.

Betts started in all 18 games for the BC Lions in 2023 and accumulated 44 tackles, 18 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, and a pass defended. His 18 sacks were a record for most by a Canadian in a CFL season.

Betts worked out for the Detroit Lions in December following the CFL season and later signed with Detroit in February. He had declined offers of around $300,000 from the BC Lions and Hamilton Tiger-Cats to pursue an opportunity in the NFL.

Since joining the CFL with the Edmonton Elks as a third overall draft pick in 2019, Betts has played in 55 regular season games with 45 starts accumulating 81 tackles and 27 sacks.

Betts played for Laval in college which saw him win the Vanier Cup in 2016 and 2018. He was named U Sports Most Outstanding Rookie in 2015. He was also the first player to win the J.P Metras Trophy 3 times, which is awarded to the most outstanding lineman in U Sports.

In Closing

It is an uphill battle to make an NFL team as a player who did not have significant capital invested in him by an NFL team. While Betts by no means looked out of place he did not make enough of an impact to cement himself as a lock to make the 53 players on the roster. It will be interesting to see if he will land on another NFL team, Detroit’s practice roster, or back in the CFL.

Dan Campbell spoke on how difficult the coming days would be in the press conference following the final preseason game as they prepared to make the difficult decisions of what individuals they were not going to include on their 53-man roster. He also spoke on the importance of those being brought into the practice roster as they will need contributions from those who start the season on their practice roster.

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