The Detroit Lions are adding a former Tennessee Titans draft pick to the practice squad ahead of Week 12.

Detroit announced Monday that former Titans linebacker David Long Jr. has signed with the team’s practice squad after standout linebacker Alex Anzalone was placed on injured reserve due to an arm injury.

Long Jr. started out the season with the Miami Dolphins but was waived on Nov. 13. He sat out due to injury when the Titans beat Miami as Hard Rock Stadium in Week 4. In six starts and eight appearances for Miami this season, Long Jr. totaled 38 tackles (26 solo).

Originally a sixth-round pick by the Titans in the 2019 NFL Draft, Long Jr. spent four years in Tennessee and proved to be a consistent presence for head coach Mike Vrabel’s defense. During his time with the team, he played in 50 regular-season games and made 26 starts while posting 230 total tackles (15 for loss), two forced fumbles, 14 pass breakups and four interceptions. 

He also started two of five playoff appearances for Tennessee while tallying 27 total tackles and a sack in the postseason. Long Jr. played in the Titans’ AFC Championship loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2019 Playoffs. 

He then signed a two-year, $11 million deal with Miami ahead of the 2023 campaign. Long Jr. immediately became an impact player for McDaniel, finishing his debut season with the Dolphins with a career-best 113 total tackles to go along with one sack and one forced fumble.

Though Miami decided to move on from his this season, Long Jr. now has a chance to eventually contribute to arguably the best team in the NFL. The Lions are currently 9-1 and coming off a 52-6 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. This matched their point total from the 52-14 win over the Titans on Oct. 27.

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Are the Tennessee Volunteers out of the college football playoff race?

The Tennessee Volunteers earned their second loss of the season this weekend as the Georgia Bulldogs defeated them by a final score of 31-17. Tennessee jumped out to an early 10-0 lead in the first half, but it was all Georgia for the remainder of the game. The Volunteers would fail to score a single point in the second half.

That now puts Tennessee in the two-loss club in the SEC, which is getting lengthier by the weekend it seems. That also means they are no longer in as good of a position to make the playoffs this year and will be at the mercy of the committee at the end of the regular season to see if they made the top-12. So was Tennessee’s loss to Georgia enough to keep them out of the race?

The short answer is no. Tennessee certainly still has a chance to make the college football playoff this season, but fans are probably going to have to hold their breath. Because with there being so many two-loss SEC teams this season, someone is going to have to be left out of the mix.

Georgia is one of these teams. They have multiple wins over ranked opponents and their only two losses on the season came on the road against ranked opponents. Alabama has a loss to Vanderbilt and Tennessee but wins against Georgia, LSU and South Carolina. Ole Miss has losses to Kentucky and LSU but has wins against Georgia and South Carolina. Tennessee has losses to Arkansas and Georgia but has a win against Alabama.

And that’s the potential problem for Tennessee. They have one signature win on the schedule thus far. The rest of it is teams like NC State, Mississippi State, Kentucky and Oklahoma. Teams that have struggled a lot this season. The win against Florida certainly looks better as the season progresses, but when their schedule gets matched up against the rest of the SEC, it might cause some concerns from the committee. However, the win against Alabama could very well earn them a spot in the top-12.

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After Tennessee fans shook off their disappointment from a loss to Georgia, they realized that a College Football Playoff bid is still within reach.

But the Vols (8-2) will need to beat UTEP (2-8) on Saturday (1 p.m. ET, SEC Network+) and Vanderbilt (6-4) on Nov. 30. And then they’ll need help from other teams.

The updated College Football Playoff rankings will be released on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Tennessee will be a bubble team and clustered along with several others for one of the final spots. So UT fans will have a rooting interest in other games.

Here are seven ways the Vols could make it into the 12-team playoff.

Ole Miss loses to Florida

Ole Miss (8-2), Georgia (8-2), Alabama (8-2) and Tennessee have the same record and a head-to-head win against another team in the foursome. So any loss by a team in this group helps the others.

Ole Miss plays Florida (5-5) at The Swamp on Saturday (noon ET, ABC). The Rebels are favored. But the Gators are rejuvenated after beating LSU behind dynamic freshman quarterback DJ Lagway.

UT fans should root for Lane Kiffin to lose. That shouldn’t be hard.

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Ohio State blows out Indiana

Indiana (10-0) plays at Ohio State (9-1) on Saturday (noon ET, FOX). Tennessee could benefit from a blowout by either team. But an Ohio State win by a wide margin seems more likely.

Indiana is undefeated, but it has a weak schedule and no Top 25 wins.

If the Hoosiers lose to Ohio State in a blowout, it would feed skepticism about their legitimacy and perhaps push them out of the bracket.

UT fans should root for Ohio State to rout Indiana.

Notre Dame loses to Army or USC

If Notre Dame (9-1) wins out, it will make the field. But considering it already has an ugly loss to Northern Illinois, another defeat likely would bury the Irish.

Notre Dame plays undefeated Army (9-0) on Saturday (7 p.m. ET, NBC) and then Southern Cal (5-5) on Nov. 30.

UT fans should practice patriotism and root for Army to win.

Texas-Texas A&M winner loses SEC title game

Texas (9-1) plays at Texas A&M (8-2) on Nov. 30. If both avoid an upset this week (against Kentucky and Auburn, respectively), the winner of their Lone Star State showdown would advance to the SEC title game.

Suppose Texas A&M beats Texas but loses the SEC title game for its third loss. There would be a good debate between the Aggies and Vols based on résumé.

Suppose Texas beats Texas A&M but loses the SEC title game for its second loss. Texas doesn’t have a Top 25 win, so its résumé may be weaker than Tennessee’s in that scenario.

There’s a solid chance that Alabama advances to the SEC championship game based on a series of tiebreakers. If Alabama wins the SEC title, the Vols would own a victory over the conference champion, strengthening their résumé.

UT fans should root against a Texas school in the SEC title game to create chaos.

Penn State loses to Minnesota or Maryland

Penn State has a strong ranking but a weak schedule. And it lost 20-13 to Ohio State in its only game against a Top 25 opponent.

So another loss would drop Penn State precipitously.

The Nittany Lions play at Minnesota (6-4) on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS) and against Maryland (4-6) on Nov. 30.

UT fans should root for Penn State to lose either game.

Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss lose rivalry games

On Nov. 29, Ole Miss plays Mississippi State (2-8) in the Egg Bowl, and Georgia plays Georgia Tech (6-4) in the “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate” rivalry game. On Nov. 30, Alabama plays Auburn (4-6) in the Iron Bowl.

If any of the favorites loses its rivalry game, Tennessee would jump ahead of it. However, all three will be playing at home, making those upsets unlikely.

Nevertheless, UT should root for upsets in those rivalry games.

Tennessee is still in the field

Don’t assume that Tennessee will be outside the bracket when it’s released on Tuesday.

Most media projections list the Vols as the first team out, but a few others have them making the field — barely.

That disagreement is a good reminder that these rankings are subjective. Any of these scenarios could put the Vols back in the bracket, but they still might be in it with no assistance needed.

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

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