Isaiah Buggs did not take part in most of the Detroit Lions' voluntary workouts this offseason, and the big defensive tackle said he believes that played a role in his demotion from the starting lineup.

"I think so," Buggs told the Free Press on Monday. "But I had a baby so I couldn’t be here and my family comes first. So anything my family needs, that’s what it’s going to be. And I can’t help that if they can’t accept that, but I definitely think me not being around in the spring played a part in it. That’s what it is."

Buggs started 13 games at nose tackle for the Lions last season and had his most productive year in the NFL with 46 tackles and one sack.

He signed a two-year extension worth up to $6 million to stay with the Lions this spring, but spent much of the summer working with the second-team defense and played late into the Lions' final preseason game.

Buggs said Lions coaches told him he would be inactive for Thursday's season-opener against the Kansas City Chiefs. Benito Jones is expected to start at nose tackle that game, alongside Alim McNeill.

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"As of right now, they told me that I was not going to play so that’s what we got and I’m going to be straightforward with it cause they were straightforward with me with that," he told a group of reporters. "As of right now, I will not be playing."

Buggs missed practice Saturday because he said he was sick, then caused a minor stir on social media Sunday with a cryptic post on X, the site formerly known as Twitter.

"I’m Good But Just Know Situations Change #96BALLFOREVER Y’all Gone See," he wrote.

Asked about his post Monday, Buggs, who also reportedly removed any reference to the Lions on X and Instagram, where he refers to himself as "Athlete" in his bio, said there was "nothing to address."

"Like I say, things change, relationships change," he said.

Asked if his relationship with the Lions had changed, Buggs downplayed his post.

"I’m not going to technically say that," he said. "I’m just saying in life period. It’s nothing dealing with football, it’s nothing dealing with here, I’m just saying, so I don’t want anybody to take that context and run with it. But at the same time, relationships do change. That’s all I’m going to say. There’s nothing else to say about it."

The Lions have improved their depth on the defensive front with 11 edge and interior rushers currently on their 53-man roster. Typically, teams keep eight linemen active on game days, and Aidan Hutchinson, John Cominsky, Charles Harris, Josh Paschal, Levi Onwuzurike and James Houston are candidates to join McNeill and Jones in the rotation Thursday.

A sixth-round pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers out of Alabama in 2019, Buggs said he thought he had "a pretty good training camp" and was caught off guard by his benching.

"Played an important role last year, leading (into) this year, you think you’re going to be that guy, you’re thinking they’re all in with you and then, boom, in the snap of a finger it’s like that," he said. "So like I said, I always been a team player, I always been a role player. Whatever they have for me, that’s what I’m going to do."

And if being a backup is his role now, Buggs said he'll use that internal fuel.

"I’m always determined to go harder every time things go against me and not my way," he said. "That’s just something I’ve been dealing with all my life, even from junior college to Bama, from the Steelers to here. I’m going to always keep going and that’s what it’s going to be."

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions to sit DT Isaiah Buggs vs. Kansas City Chiefs