Dave Birkett

Detroit Free Press

Jake Rudock is returning to the Detroit Lions – as a part of their 10-player practice squad.

One day after the Lions cut Rudock as part of their reduction to a 53-man roster, the sixth-round draft pick re-signed with the team’s developmental unit after clearing waivers.

Also headed to the Lions practice squad: George Winn, Charles Washington, Jace Billingsley, Brandon Thomas, Alex Carter, TJ Jones and Brian Leonhardt.

Rudock had a strong preseason, leading the Lions with four touchdown passes and posting a team-best 96.3 passer rating, but ultimately lost out on the backup job to veteran Dan Orlovsky.

Orlovsky, entering his 12th NFL season, has long been a security blanket for Lions coach Jim Caldwell.

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The two spent part of one season together with the Indianapolis Colts, when Orlovsky helped the Colts avoid an 0-16 record, and the Lions signed Orlovsky as a free agent in 2014 after losing out on Shaun Hill and several other backup options.

Rudock, who played last season at Michigan and earned strong pre-draft recommendations from coach Jim Harbaugh, completed 30 of 51 passes for 333 yards with four touchdowns and one interception this preseason.

He led three scoring drives while playing most of the Lions’ fourth preseason game, a 31-0 win over the Buffalo Bills, and was praised by Caldwell for showing "a good steady growth" after the game.

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"He’s grasping the offense better and better and better," Caldwell said Thursday. "He’s a smart guy anyway. He works at it. He made some nice throws this evening and certainly did a nice job just in terms of operating the offense. We didn’t do a whole lot of no huddle out there. We huddled pretty much every time, but he still did a nice job getting us out of some bad plays and things of that nature. He’s developing. He obviously played well."

Contact Dave Birkett: dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

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