Lions Trade for Andre Cisco

The Lions have made a trade! After much malediction from the fanbase for not making a move to improve our team, we sent a 2028 sixth-round pick to the New York Jets for veteran safety Andre Cisco. As a corresponding move, the team waived second-year tight end Jackson Meeks, who should sign back to the practice squad if he clears waivers.

While not the ground-breaking trade some were hoping for (à la the Parsons and Simmons trades our divisional rivals have made over the past two seasons), Cisco offers a baseline of safety depth and adds to a secondary that, while showing improvement over the past four games, will welcome a small increase in both floor and ceiling.

Who is he?

Cisco was a third-round pick for the Jaguars in the 2021 draft out of Syracuse. He was a highly regarded safety prospect who fell due to an ACL injury suffered in warm-ups before a Week 4 matchup against Georgia Tech.

He spent his entire rookie contract in Jacksonville, playing 63 games, including 47 starts. During that time, he made 154 solo tackles, 75 assisted tackles, 3 TFLs, 2 QB hits, 3 forced fumbles, 8 interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), and 24 PBUs. He also played 593 special teams snaps and made 7 tackles.

Cisco then signed a one-year, $8.5 million deal with the Jets in 2025, but tore his pec in Week 8 and re-signed in New York on a one-year, $2.5 million deal. He played in 17 total games for Gang Green, starting 12. In those games, he had 64 combined tackles, 3 for loss, 2 QB hits, one sack (on Goff in Week 3 of this season), 2 pass defences, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. He also played 130 special teams snaps for the Jets this year, making 4 tackles and assisting on another tackle.

The majority of his snaps have come as a free safety (151 of his 190 defensive snaps this season, 293 of his 499 such snaps in 2025, and 2179 of his 3064 snaps on defence in Jacksonville). He also has experience playing in the box (726 pro snaps) and in the slot (294 such snaps).

His run defence has been his strong suit, and PFF has never given him a below-average grade in this area, crediting him with 42 run stops so far in his pro career. He has never been much of a blitzer, used in this role on only 61 of his 3756 defensive snaps, and has never graded above 61.5 in this area before this season, when he recorded the aforementioned sack and another QB hit for an 82.5 pass-rushing grade from PFF. After scoring above par in coverage in all four seasons in Jacksonville, Cisco’s coverage has been down in New York, with coverage grades in the 54 range in both seasons, despite marginal improvements in his completion rate allowed, yards per target and completion, and passer rating allowed.

This season, per PFF, he is the 41st of 100 qualifying safeties in overall grade (63.2), 16th in run defence grade (81.1), 6th in pass-rushing grade (82.5), but 63rd in coverage grade (54.1). Those grades would rank 3rd, 1st, 2nd, and 5th in the Lions’ safety room, respectively. This season, Cisco ranks 83rd in solo tackles (14), 82nd in run stops (3), 6th in sacks (1), 28th in missed tackles (3), 23rd in passer rating allowed (80.7), 7th in yards per reception allowed (6.4), and 12th in receptions allowed (5).

Is he worth it?

For the price of a sixth-rounder in next year’s draft, yes. Cisco has flashed before, and a change of scenery could revitalise him, either leading to us re-signing him beyond this year, or letting him walk in free agency and potentially recouping that sixth-rounder via the compensatory formula.

For the price of waiving Jackson Meeks, yes. Meeks has not taken any snaps since 2 snaps on punt coverage against the Panthers (Week 4), and has not played on offence since taking 10 snaps against the Jets (Week 3). Since then, veteran Tyler Conklin has re-overtaken him at TE3, and Meeks has been a victim of needs elsewhere (i.e., the defence) and the league’s antiquated inactive rule. I’m sure the team would love to sign him to the practice squad if he clears waivers, but I also wouldn’t be heartbroken if another team signs him to see if they can unlock his F-TE potential.

Where does he fit on the depth chart?

Initially (i.e., on Sunday in Munich), Cisco will slide into Abney’s role at free safety. Abney’s snap count dropped on Sunday from 34 snaps against Green Bay and Minnesota to 15, down from 64 snaps against Arizona. This will allow Abney to become quality depth at all four positions in the secondary, and to play more special teams.

Cisco could also eat into Chuck Clark’s snaps at free safety (342 snaps, 483 total on defence [3rd most of the team behind Hutch and Jack]), giving the team more athleticism on the back end. In comparison, Abney’s increased role on special teams will also reduce Clark’s playtime in this phase (averaging around 5 snaps a game on special teams), keeping him fresher for his defensive snaps.

If Kerby still needs a week or two after being activated from the PUP list, Cisco could easily start at free safety while Kerby reacclimatises. Once Special K is back and retakes his position as the starter, Cisco could then slide back into his reserve role, rotating with Kerby while also playing some strong safety in certain packages with Branch in the nickel, giving the team a heavy nickel look against teams who play a lot of 12 and 13 personnel.

As mentioned before, Cisco has special teams experience and could provide depth there, sliding into a Daniel Thomas-esque role when Kerby is back, upgrading this phase as well.

How do you think Cisco will play in the Honolulu blue? Would you score the trade for Andre 3000? Will he be a hit, or just depth while we wait for Kerby to come back? Let me know in the comments below.

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