Dolphins sign ex-Lions safety Delmas for one year

Former Lions safety Louis Delmas is heading back to Florida. (USATSI)

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Louis Delmas is headed home. The former Detroit Lions safety signed a one-year deal with the Miami Dolphins on Monday, the team announced. Delmas is a South Florida native who attended high school just six miles away from Sun Life Stadium.

The deal is worth a maximum of $3.5 million, according to ProFootballTalk. Delmas was cut by the Lions in February during a house-cleaning that also saw Detroit release wide receiver Nate Burleson.

"I am happy to announce the addition of safety Louis Delmas to the Miami Dolphins and I would like to welcome him back to South Florida," Dolphins general manager Dennis Hickey said in a statement. "He is leader on and off the field and has a proven track record of playmaking that will benefit the entire defensive unit."

The addition of Delmas likely means the Dolphins won't be bringing back Chris Clemons. Clemons, who's spent his entire five-year career in Miami, is set to become a free agent on Tuesday. Both Delmas and Clemons were taken in the 2009 draft. Delmas was a second-round pick of the Lions, while Clemons was a fifth-round pick of the Dolphins.

If Delmas can stay healthy, he should be an asset to Miami's secondary. The 26-year-old missed a total of 13 games in 2011 and 2012 due to nagging knee injuries, but Delmas did rebound to start in all 16 games for the Lions in 2013. Delmas had three picks for the Lions last season, which was tied for the second-highest total on the team.

With Miami scheduled to play the Lions at Ford Field next season, Delmas will get to make at least one trip back to Detroit in 2014.

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