Lions place Austin Bryant on injured reserve, re-sign tight end Logan Thomas

Allen Park — The Detroit Lions have placed Austin Bryant on injured reserve Monday. 

The rookie defensive end has been out more than a month with an undisclosed upper-body injury. Prior to that, he spent the early part of the offseason program recovering from a torn pectoral muscle he suffered his final season at Clemson. 

By waiting to place Bryant on injured reserve now, after the team established its 53-man roster this weekend, he's eligible to play later this season. He can return to the field as early as Detroit's Week 9 matchup against the Oakland Raiders. 

"I think he showed us some really good things that he does on the field," Patricia said during a Friday conference call. "He's attentive, he works really hard, he's a consistent person in the building every single day. So there's a lot of positive there.

"The problem for us was not getting to see enough of him on the field as training camp went on. That's part of the decision-makin g we're still trying to go through, look at all the different options and all the situations we can do. But certainly someone we thought was working in the right direction" 

With the open spot created by Bryant's designation, the Lions re-signed tight end Logan Thomas, who was released a day earlier to squeeze waiver claim J.D. McKissic on to the roster. 

jdrogers@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @Justin_Rogers