The Detroit Lions announced they have added OL Max Pircher to the roster as a part of the International Player Pathway program.
OL Max Pircher joins the #Lions as part of the @NFL's International Player Pathway Program for 2023 season: https://t.co/IliVPbmt9e pic.twitter.com/vsaSc0DZuP
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) May 22, 2023
Pircher replaces TE Patrick Murtagh, who was recently allocated to Detroit but will be unable to participate with the team this year due to a medical issue.
The International Player Pathway program was instituted by the NFL in 2017 as a way to grow the game of football. Each year one of the NFL’s eight divisions will be randomly chosen to receive one international player each.
Those players don’t count against the 90-man roster limit and can be carried as an eleventh practice squad member if they’re not signed to a contract.
Pircher, 23, was allocated to the Rams in 2021 as a part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway program. He played for leagues in Austria, Italy and Germany before joining the NFL.
Pircher spent the past two years in Los Angeles. IPP players have roster exemptions but Pircher earned a spot on the Rams’ active practice squad in 2022. He was re-signed to a futures deal for the 2023 season but let go in March.
He has yet to appear in an NFL game.
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