Per Chris Burke of The Athletic, Detroit Lions safety Godwin Igwebuike will be switching to the offensive side of the ball at the running back position.
Igwebuike initially signed with the Lions in January on a reserve/futures contract. He entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Northwestern and had spent time with the Buccaneers, 49ers, Eagles, and Jets.
Igwebuike has been out of the NFL since 2019, and most recently was with the Seattle Dragons of the XFL before the league folded.
In Detroit, he was in competition for a reserve safety and special teams role along with Dean Marlowe, Alijah Holder, Bobby Price, Jalen Elliott, C.J. Moore and D’Angelo Amos.
Godwin Igwebuike gets the pick off the deflection on an underthrown ball from Landry Jones to Flynn Nagel, tipped by Steven Johnson pic.twitter.com/dvbPl9zIDq
— Arif Hasan, off-season edition 🌴 (@ArifHasanNFL) February 22, 2020
Now that he will be playing as a running back, his new position group will be much less crowded. Jamaal Williams and D’Andre Swift are locks to make the roster, so Igwebuike will be up against seventh-round pick Jermar Jefferson, Michael Warren, and undrafted rookie Dedrick Mills.
Igwebuike was a four-star prospect as a running back and safety at Pickerington North High School in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio. In his time there, he recorded 1,985 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns. When he committed to Northwestern, he was given the option to play either running back or safety, and he ultimately went with the defensive side of the ball.
