Tennessee football: Former Vols DE Robert Ayers signs with Detroit Lions

Former Tennessee football defensive end Robert Ayers continues his NFL career a decade after he finished up with the Volunteers.

After two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a former Tennessee football defensive end is about to enter his 10th year in the NFL. Robert Ayers, who played for Phillip Fulmer and the Vols from 2005 to 2008, signed with the Detroit Lions Monday.

NFL Network Insider Ian Rapaport reported the signing on his Twitter account. According to Rapaport, Ayers signed a one-year deal.

Ayers was released by the Bucs back in May of this year after eight and a half sacks in two seasons. He had a major drop-off in sack totals from year one to year two in Tampa, going from six and a half to two. However, he had roughly the same amount of tackles both years.

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For his career, Ayers has racked up 35 sacks. He played with the Denver Broncos from 2009 to 2013 and the New York Giants in 2014 and 2015 before joining the Bucs in 2016. Although he only had two sacks last year, that was also his number back in 2012. He followed that up with an impressive five and a half in 2013, earning his contract in New York.

In Detroit, Ayers’s arrival can help take tons of pressure off Ezekiel Ansah on the other side. Ansah had 12 sacks last year, and if Ayers can return to his old self, he could help make Detroit’s pass-rush unstoppable this season. That’s probably what Matt Patricia wants his first year as head coach of the team.

Ayers joins Jalen Reeves-Maybin as two former Tennessee football players on the Vols’ roster. That team’s offensive coordinator is notably Jim Bob Cooter, who was a teammate of Ayers’s in 2005 when both played for the Vols. That year, Ayers was a freshman while Cooter was a senior backup quarterback.

Even after a terrible season and a terrible decade, Detroit is just one example of how Tennessee football has still filled up the NFL. Ayers has been one of the most productive players from the Vols the past 10 years and he figures to continue that in Detroit.