Notes: John Cominsky named free agent Lions can’t afford to lose

And he doesn’t want to lose the Lions either.

Club on his hand and all, defensive lineman John Cominsky more than impressed in his first year in Detroit.

So much so that Pro Football Focus named him the one free agent the Detroit Lions can’t afford to lose. The 27 year old has become a key piece of the defensive front.

After three years, he was let go from an Atalanta Falcons team that couldn’t figure out how to fit Cominsky into their new scheme. The Lions were one of eight teams to submit a waiver claim and won.

He suffered an early season injury that kept him off the field for a month, but wrapped his surgically repaired thumb up in a club and trudged on. Sounds like grit to me. He managed to rack up a career-high 30 tackles, five tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks, three passes defended, and a forced fumble.

“Cominsky brought versatility and physicality to the Lions’ defense in his first season in Detroit, becoming a more consistent pass rusher with his 6-foot-5, 285-pound frame that also enabled him to kick inside,” writes PFF’s Brad Spielberger. “He and rookie first-rounder Aidan Hutchinson both demonstrated positional flexibility along the defensive line, which could help Detroit construct different looks and manufacture pressure on opposing quarterbacks if he’s kept around for 2023 and beyond.”

Cominsky could test the market and perhaps sign for a bigger paycheck, but he’s already expressed he wants to remain a Lion. He posted a passionate plea to stay in Detroit on Instagram, here’s the caption:

Exit meeting 2021-22 season:“Can I please get released?”

Exit meeting 2022-2023 season:“Can you please bring me back?”. . .

Life is absolutely insane. Sacrifices had to be made and uncertainty was my reality for most of career. Let this season be a testament to the fact that your “plays” are coming. Keep putting your time and effort into what you want and your big plays in life will come to you naturally. Learned a lot from this game and excited for what’s next. Thank you to the Lions organization and my family for making this possible. If I haven’t said it already, I WANT TO BE A LION tag @detroitlionsnfl in the comments to make sure the message is loud and clear ”

And onto the rest of your notes.

• Time for another position breakdown from Detroitlions.com’s Tim Twentyman. Next up is wide receivers.

• In this CBS Sports mock, the Lions stick with their sixth pick and 18th picks and stack the defense.

• Same story for Bucky Brooks’ mock, but the Lions are going for different defensive players.

• Take some time to reflect and enjoy Kerby Joseph’s season highlights.

• In case you missed it, The Athletic’s Colton Pouncy and Nick Baumgardner took a look at some of the most critical decisions that this new Lions regime faced in getting to where they are today.

• Roary will be reppin’ the D at the Pro Bowl Games let’s gooooooo.