In this post announcing that Detroit Lions restricted free agent safety Ko Simpson had signed his one-year tender, I pointed out that the Lions had an NFL-high 17 defensive backs on their roster.

With the NFL's 32nd-ranked pass defense in 2009, that wasn't much of a surprise.

In the last 24 hours, though, the Lions have thinned the ranks a bit, terminating safety Kalvin Pearson's contract and now waiving defensive backs Brian Witherspoon and Kevin Hobbs.

Hobbs entered the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks, signing as an undrafted free agent from Auburn in 2006. Waived by the Seahawks at the end of that year's training camp, Hobbs spent part of the season on the Atlanta Falcons' practice squad. The Falcons waived Hobbs in 2007, and he returned to the Seahawks, where he made 12 tackles in 20 games for Seattle before signing a one-year deal with the Lions last off-season.

Hobbs started two of his 14 games with Detroit, setting a career-high with 37 tackles. A restricted free agent, Hobbs was tendered at the "Right of First Refusal" level, which comes with a $1.101 million dollar salary. Hobbs had signed the tender prior to being waived.

Like Hobbs, Witherspoon entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent, signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2008. Witherspoon made 16 tackles and recovered a special teams fumble during his rookie season, but was waived by the Jaguars late last season and claimed by the Lions, where he appeared in one game.

Witherspoon had one-year remaining on his contract.