Lions Sign LB KJ Britt Off the Patriots Practice Squad After Losing Rolder for the Season

The Lions moved fast to patch their linebacker room. Detroit is signing veteran LB KJ Britt to its active roster off the New England Patriots' practice squad, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on X Monday evening (via Lions Wire and Pride of Detroit). As of this writing the team hadn't posted an official announcement or named a corresponding roster move.

Who he is

Britt, 27, is a 6-0, 240-pound inside linebacker out of Auburn. Tampa Bay took him in the fifth round of the 2021 draft, and he spent four seasons with the Buccaneers before playing for Miami in 2025, per his Patriots.com bio. New England signed him in March, released him at final cuts and brought him back to the practice squad on Sept. 1. Across 76 regular-season games he has 16 starts, 129 tackles, half a sack and 32 special-teams tackles, plus six playoff games. Last year with the Dolphins he played all 17 games and made 11 special-teams stops.

Why now

The middle of Detroit's defense got thin in a hurry. Dan Campbell said Monday that rookie LB Jimmy Rolder will miss the rest of the season with a hamstring injury and is headed to injured reserve, per Pro Football Talk. Jack Campbell is still in the hospital after Sunday's scary injury against the Vikings, and the team has said only that early signs are positive. Behind them, the other off-ball linebackers on the official roster are Derrick Barnes, Malcolm Rodriguez, Trevor Nowaske and Amen Ogbongbemiga, with Joe Bachie on the practice squad.

Our Take: Nobody should expect Britt to replace Jack Campbell, and that isn't why he's here. He's a smart pickup for a roster that just lost two linebackers in one game. He has 76 NFL games of experience, he knows how to play special teams, and he can learn the defense quickly enough to help right away on kick units and as a backup behind Barnes. Signing him off a practice squad also means he goes straight to the active roster, so Detroit clearly wants him ready for this week. The bigger questions are still Campbell's recovery and who takes his snaps in the middle. Britt just keeps a rough week from turning into an emergency.

What's next

Lions (6-2) at Miami Dolphins, Sunday, Nov. 8, 1:00 PM ET on FOX at Hard Rock Stadium, against the team Britt played for last season. After that comes a Munich matchup with the Patriots, the team that just let him go, on Nov. 15.

Sources: Adam Schefter on X, Patriots.com, Pro Football Talk, Heavy, DetroitLions.com schedule, via Lions Wire and Pride of Detroit