This week, a curious transaction appeared on the daily NFL wire. Back on Wednesday, the Detroit Lions waived former sixth-round pick John Penisini from the reserve/retirement list. It’s a curious transaction because a year ago, Penisini retired from the NFL. There would be no reason to change Penisini’s status unless he intends on returning to the league.
Pride of Detroit has since confirmed that Penisini does, indeed, intend to unretire from the NFL. Because he was still under contract when he initially retired back in 2022, the Lions held his rights. But Detroit officially waived him this week and no other teams claimed him.