The Detroit Lions were awarded linebacker Trevor Nowaske on waivers Wednesday, rounding out their initial 53-man roster.

Nowaske, who played at Plymouth Salem High and Saginaw Valley State, signed with the Lions as an undrafted free agent last spring and spent the first half of last season on the team's practice squad. He played in two late-season games on special teams, and was claimed off waivers by the Arizona Cardinals when he was waived in December.

In Detroit, Nowaske joins a linebacker room that has six other players: Jack Campbell, Alex Anzalone, Derrick Barnes, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Malcolm Rodriguez and Ben Niemann. He likely will have a core special teams role in Detroit.

The Lions only kept 52 players on their roster at Tuesday's cut deadline. They are expected to free up another roster spot in the coming days that could be used to re-sign defensive tackle Kyle Peko by placing John Cominsky on injured reserve.

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On Tuesday, the Lions placed defensive tackle Brodric Martin and cornerback Emmanuel Moseley on IR with a designation to return this season.

With waiver claims processed, NFL teams can begin filling out their practice squads. Defensive linemen Isaac Ukwu, Mitchell Agude and Chris Smith and linebacker Abraham Beauplan are among the candidates to return on practice squad, and the Lions could bring back Nate Sudfeld or Jake Fromm at quarterback. Hendon Hooker is the backup to Jared Goff.

None of the 23 players the Lions waived Tuesday were claimed by another team for their 53-man roster.

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Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on X and Instagram at @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions add LB Trevor Nowaske off waivers from Arizona Cardinals