NEW YORK -- The Detroit Lions have claimed safety Isa Abdul-Quddus off waivers from the New Orleans Saints.

Abdul-Quddus spent the past three seasons as a reserve safety and core special teams player for New Orleans. He started four games since signing as an undrafted free agent out of Fordham in 2011, three of which occurred in 2012.

But the 6-foot-1, 205-pounder was squeezed out by the rise of young safeties Kenny Vaccaro and Rafael Bush last season. He was relegated to mostly a special teams role and had a career-worst 13 tackles in 2013.

New Orleans released Abdul-Quddus on Jan. 7.

"He's someone that's very very smart and knows the defense, plays his role well," Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins told sister publication NOLA.com after Abdul-Quddus' release. "He came in last year and this year when we needed him too, played significant snaps and did a great job. I think it was a little surprising for most guys, especially in our room, but that's just how this business goes."