The Detroit Lions moved to reinforce their secondary ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline, acquiring veteran safety Andre Cisco from the New York Jets in exchange for a 2028 sixth-round pick, according to multiple reports.
Cisco, 26, entered the league as a third-round selection by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2021 NFL Draft. He spent his first four seasons in Jacksonville before signing with the Jets ahead of the 2025 campaign, and he made 12 starts across 17 games in New York.
The 6-foot, 210-pound defensive back has started four of nine games this season, compiling 23 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble and one pass breakup for a Jets team off to a disappointing 2-7 start.
Cisco now joins a Lions club sitting at 6-2 and pushing for its third playoff appearance in the last four years. His new unit has been the team's most glaring weakness, ranking last in the NFL in both passing yards allowed, at 2,087, and touchdown passes surrendered, at 18.
That group has trended upward in recent weeks, however. Detroit has held each of its last three opponents, the Packers, Vikings and Dolphins, to 17 points or fewer, and the secondary allowed an average of just 200 passing yards per game over that span.
CBS Sports handed the Lions a grade of B- for the deal, calling it a modest but sensible move by general manager Brad Holmes. The analysis noted the trade is unlikely to generate much excitement and may have been done at least partly so Detroit could say it addressed the secondary at the deadline, but it also cautioned that the unit's recent statistical surge came against quarterbacks Kyler Murray and Malik Willis, neither of whom is thriving this season. Still, the Lions did contain Jordan Love in Week 7, and at minimum Cisco supplies depth to a group that badly needs it.
The Jets received a C- in the same grades. General manager Darren Mougey earned some credit for extracting value for a player in the final year of his contract, but the return was viewed as underwhelming. CBS Sports questioned whether New York could have secured more given where Detroit's pass defense ranks, arguing the Jets should have landed a pick in the upcoming draft rather than one they cannot use until 2028.
