Robert Ayers' tenure with the Detroit Lions barely eclipsed one day. After signing the veteran defensive end on Monday, the Lions announced that Ayers had been released on Tuesday. The 32-year-old was nowhere to be seen at practice, and the team made the transaction official later in the afternoon. Here's a handy timeline: Monday, August 27, 11:31 AM EST Tuesday, August 27, 3:30 PM EST One has to imagine that there might something that triggered the quick release, as 28-ish hours seems barely long enough to get a suitcase unpacked, never mind get cut loose following a free-agent signing. Was there an incident with the team in that short timespan? Did the team find out something that they hadn't previously known prior to signing him? Did they change their mind during his lone practice session on Monday? It's hard not to wonder. It's especially head-scratching considering Lions head coach Matt Patricia said Tuesday morning that he was excited to see how Ayers would fit into the team's defensive unit. Four hours later, he was cut. Ayers has previously spent time with the Bucs, Giants and Broncos. Despite recording just two sacks last season, the veteran lineman was expected to help the Lions' pass rush (an area where they're pretty thin). Instead, he's mysteriously unemployed once again.<doc-sep>By Matt Schoch Special to The Detroit News Allen Park — After one day, veteran defensive end Robert Ayers was released by the Lions on Tuesday, the team announced. A first-round pick by Denver in 2009 out of Tennessee, Ayers has 35 sacks and nine forced fumbles in his career, including 9.5 sacks in 2015 with the New York Giants. Ayers was signed Monday after spending the last two seasons with Tampa Bay, netting a combined 8.5 sacks. According to Pro Football Focus, he had 45 pressures in the two seasons, and no edge rusher had more quarterback hits than Ayers’ 35. Ayers practiced with the Lions on Monday, but did not speak to the media. Ayers was not out at the beginning of Tuesday’s practice and was not in the locker room after practice during the time the media had access. Matt Schoch is a freelance writer.<doc-sep>Almost 24 hours after it has happened, there is still no reason given for the release of Detroit Lions defensive end Robert Ayers from the roster, and even Ayers himself isn't giving away any hints on social media, even if he's amused by how things played out as well. Ayers has been quiet about what happened in between Monday and Tuesday afternoon in Detroit, but even he had to laugh at the notion of how quick his Lions career went when it came to a funny internet meme online. Ayers spotted something a Lions fan posted regarding his quick career, and shared it with the message "now that's hilarious" on Twitter with some tears of joy emoji's. Indeed, it was funny, with a baby circling to come into a room and coming right back out. Here's what Ayers had to share after the fact about his shortened Lions career. Now that’s hilarious ?????? https://t.co/lgL3uuUAme — Robert E. Ayers Jr (@1_900_ayersjr) August 29, 2018 According to a piece by Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press, Bob Quinn was directly asked what went down with Ayers at a luncheon on Wednesday. But naturally, Quinn didn't have anything to say, instead diverting the question to Eli Harold, the rush linebacker the Lions acquired a few days back. Here's a look at the exchange between Quinn and Dan Miller, the Lions' radio broadcaster, over the question from the piece: “The roster’s constantly evolving,” Miller said. “Bob, there are two players you picked up recently. I don’t know if there’s anything you can share on what happened to Robert Ayers. But Eli Harold is very interesting.” Miller, the Lions’ play-by-play announcer on WJR-AM and the sports director at Fox 2, continued his question to include more background on Harold. Quinn said nothing about Ayers and answered only the portion of Miller’s question regarding Harold, whom he acquired Aug. 23 in a trade with the San Francisco 49ers for a 2020 seventh-round pick." Interestingly, Ayers was not cut from Detroit with an injury designation, something ESPN's Michael Rothstein tweeted about on Tuesday night, so it's not likely that had anything to do with his release. Possibly, the Lions just had somewhat of a change of heart involving their defensive end and pass rush spot on the roster. The hope was Ayers could provide the Lions some additional pass rush punch for the roster given his activity in the pocket in his career, but the Lions apparently saw things otherwise, choosing to release him nearly as quickly as he came. It was a bizarre case that's only become more strange given the fact nobody has said anything about the release. Detroit will look at addressing the spot in the days ahead, so until they do, it remains puzzling why a decent veteran like Ayers would be gone nearly as soon as he showed up. Perhaps the Lions will have answers in the form of roster moves in the days ahead, but for now, everyone's still cracking up and scratching their head at the weird move.<doc-sep>
Robert Ayers went through his first practice as a Detroit Lion on Monday. When he was done, he declined interview requests in the locker room but sent two messages on Instagram that seemed to indicate he was looking forward to a 10th NFL season. One post of a Lion with a flowing mane drew more than 685 likes. By Tuesday, Ayers was out of a job, with no immediate explanation from the Lions as to why. The Lions announced they released the veteran pass rusher on Tuesday afternoon in a tersely worded statement. More: Predicting Lions' 53-man roster: Ameer Abdullah in or out? Jake Rudock has done enough to earn backup QB job General manager Bob Quinn spent most of the open portion of practice Tuesday – when Ayers was nowhere to be found – on his cell phone on the far side of the field, then went and spoke briefly with head coach Matt Patricia. Patricia, speaking to reporters about 20 minutes before practice, complimented Ayers' versatility and said "it’ll be a good opportunity for us to just take a look and see how (he) fits us.” Neither the Lions nor Ayers' agents responded to requests for comments, and Ayers did not return emails or phone calls seeking comment. The Lions signed Ayers to a one-year deal early Monday in the hopes the veteran would bolster their anemic pass rush. The Lions have just one sack through three preseason games, and have not been able to get sustainable pressure on opposing quarterbacks for the last two seasons. Ayers, 32, spent the last two seasons playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he had 8.5 sacks in 24 games. He was released this offseason, and drew immediate interest from several teams, including the Lions, but remained a free agent until this week. Briefly Both tight end Luke Willson (knee) and center Graham Glasgow returned to practice Tuesday. Contact Dave Birkett: dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett. Download our Lions Xtra app for free on Apple and Android!