ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Another player went from Detroit Lions castoff to a member of the New England Patriots in some form or fashion Wednesday when the defending Super Bowl champs claimed offensive tackle LaAdrian Waddle after his release from the Lions on Tuesday.

Maybe, though, this should not have been surprising.

Perhaps it is just a coincidence, but a decent number of discarded Lions players have ended up in New England the past few months and Waddle is just the latest. Some of it, though, has to do with the type of players the Patriots like: Bigger offensive tackles and bigger tight ends.

The Patriots added depth to their offensive line by claiming LaAdrian Waddle after he was released by the Lions this week. Raj Mehta/USA TODAY Sports

Waddle is a 6-foot-6, 328-pound offensive tackle who takes up a ton of space. Joseph Fauria, the former Lions tight end who spent a little under a month on the Patriots practice squad, is 6-foot-7 with good hands and had seven touchdowns as a rookie.

But those aren’t the only moves. The Patriots signed former Lions defensive tackle Ish Kitchen on Wednesday to the 53-man roster. They added linebacker Kevin Snyder, who was with the Lions in training camp, to the practice squad. Torrian Wilson, who was also with Detroit in training camp, is on the New England practice squad.

The Patriots had cornerback Chris Greenwood, a former fifth-round draft pick of the Lions, on the practice squad for a little under a month this season as well.

New England also traded a seventh-round pick to Detroit for tight end-turned-offensive tackle Michael Williams during training camp. The Lions essentially gave up on Williams after being patient enough with him to let him convert from college tight end to NFL offensive tackle.

He also became a player the Lions could have used this season, particularly with injury issues at both right tackle -- where he would have been a backup for Detroit -- and tight end, where the Lions have been down to one healthy tight end in multiple games this season. He has mostly been a tackle for the Patriots, but they have also used him sparingly as a big tight end -- he’s run 75 routes and caught two passes for 19 yards.

Of course, some of this goes both ways. Some New England cast-offs have found their way to Detroit as well, including defensive tackle Khyri Thornton, tight end Tim Wright and practice squad offensive lineman Braxston Cave. Safety James Ihedigbo was also a key part of New England’s defense in 2011 before going to Baltimore.

Some of this is the inevitable roster churn in the NFL, where transactions are a daily occurrence, but it is interesting that some of the players deemed not good enough for the Lions at least get a shot with the best franchise in the NFL over the past decade.