The Detroit Lions didn't do anything to upgrade their defense at last month's trade deadline, but the team made a move to bolster its pass rush Tuesday.

The Lions signed veteran defensive end Bruce Irvin to their practice squad, Irvin's agent, Daniela Salazar, told NFL Network.

Irvin has 55.5 career sacks over 11 seasons with five different teams. He made 10 starts and appeared in 11 games with 3.5 sacks last year for the Seattle Seahawks.

Irvin, 36, is far removed from his early days as an every down edge rusher, but he adds depth to a Lions pass rush that has been inconsistent this season.

The Lions have not had a sack in two of their past three games and three times this year, but have three games with five or more sacks. They rank 25th in the NFL in pass rush percentage, recording a sack on 6.5% of opponent drop backs.

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Second-year defensive end Aidan Hutchinson leads the Lions with 4.5 sacks. He had three quarterback hits in last week's win over the Los Angeles Chargers, but has not had a sack since the Lions' Week 5 win over the Carolina Panthers.

Outside linebacker Julian Okwara (two sacks) is the Lions' only other edge player with as many as two sacks.

James Houston, who was expected to start at outside linebacker and give the Lions an edge presence opposite Hutchinson, has not played since fracturing his fibula in Week 2.

Houston could return in late December.

The Lions, who have 21 sacks as a team this season, host a Chicago Bears team that's tied for the sixth most sacks allowed (30) this season.

Along with the Seahawks, Irvin has played for the Bears, Raiders, Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers.

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

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions sign veteran DE Bruce Irvin to practice squad