John Atkins (American football)


John Atkins is an American football defensive tackle for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League. He played college football at Georgia.

College career

Atkins spent five seasons as a member of Georgia Bulldogs, redshirting his freshman year. During his redshirt senior season, Atkins made 38 tackles, including one for a loss, as the Bulldogs' starting nose tackle. He finished his collegiate career with 81 total tackles, 3.5 for loss, five pass deflections and a fumble recovery in 48 games played.

Professional career

New England Patriots

Atkins signed with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent on April 29, 2018. Considered a long shot to make the team, Atkins was cut by the Patriots at the end of training camp on September 1, 2018.

Detroit Lions

Atkins was signed to the Detroit Lions' practice squad on September 3, 2018. Atkins was waived by the team on November 30, 2018 but subsequently re-signed to the practice squad. Aktins was promoted to the Lions' Active roster on December 18, 2018 after defensive tackle Da'Shawn Hand was placed on injured reserve. Atkins made his NFL debut on December 23, 2018 in a 27-9 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, making two tackles.
On August 31, 2019, Atkins was waived by the Lions as part of final roster cuts, but was signed to the team's practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on October 14. Atkins played in 12 games during the 2019 season, including six starts, and made 20 tackles.
On July 29, 2020, Atkins announced he was opting out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.