According to TSN, the Detroit Lions signed defensive lineman Mathieu Betts to a free agent contract.
Betts, 28, has been with the CFL since 2019. In 2023, while playing with the BC Lions, he set a Canadian single-season sack record of 18. He started all 18 games for the BC Lions, recording 44 tackles, three forced fumbles, and one blocked kick. Betts was voted the league’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player for 2023.
He began his CFL career with the Edmonton Elks in 2019.
Betts played four seasons of university hockey for the Laval Rouge et Or before entering the professional ranks. He was voted Rookie of the Year in 2015 after recording 12 sacks in eight regular-season games.
After finishing his undergraduate career, he was selected to play in the 2019 East-West Shrine Bowl. Edmonton drafted Betts third overall in the CFL Draft that year, although he first signed with the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent.
After failing to make the Bears’ roster in 2019, he moved to the Canadian Football League to start his career with Edmonton. He joined the BC Lions in 2022 and has been productive throughout the last two seasons.
The Lions struggled to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks last season, with only Aidan Hutchinson finishing with double-digit sacks. Betts will join a defensive end group that includes Hutchinson, John Cominsky, Josh Paschal, and James Houston.
Detroit is reportedly hiring Terrell Williams as a new defensive line coach, a position formerly held by John Scott Jr. in 2022.
