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On the first day of the initial mini-camp of the Rod Marinelli Era, the Detroit Lions supplied their rookie head coach with four reinforcements for a roster in flux, signing four veteran players on Tuesday, including linebacker Nate Wayne, a savvy defender with 90 regular-season appearances on his résumé.

Nate Wayne

Linebacker Detroit Lions Profile

2005 SEASON STATISTICS Tot Ast Solo FF Sack Int 14 11 3 1 0 1

The other players added to the roster, as the Lions got their first on-field exposure to Marinelli and his staff, were center Brock Gutierrez, safety Vernon Fox and guard Tyrone Hopson. All of the contracts are for one year and, while financial details were not immediately available, it's believed that all of them are at or near the league minimum base salaries pertinent to the players involved.

Wayne, 31, certainly is the most notable of the quartet. The eight-year veteran appeared in five games for the Lions in 2005, signing in Detroit after his release by the Jacksonville Jaguars at the outset of the season. The much-traveled Wayne, still a contender to earn a starting spot because of his mobility and experience, has 545 career tackles and 16 sacks in stints with Denver (1998-99), Green Bay (2000-02), Philadelphia (2003-04) and Detroit (2005).

In his short time with the Lions last season, Wayne posted 21 tackles, one sack, one interception and one forced fumble. Although Wayne has not been a full-time starter since 2003, when he registered a career-best 135 tackles for the Eagles, his familiarity with the "Tampa-2"-style defense that will be implemented by Marinelli and coordinator Donnie Henderson could earn him a spot in the lineup.

The former University of Mississippi standout was a seventh-round selection of the Broncos in 1998.

A nine-year veteran, Gutierrez adds depth to an offensive line unit that has brought in plenty of help in the offseason as the Lions strive to get more physical upfront. Gutierrez has played in 114 games and logged 23 starts in his career, and started all 16 games for San Francisco in 2004. The former Central Michigan star appeared in 16 games for Detroit, all as a backup, last season.

Fox has played with San Diego and Detroit, and provides the Lions a solid backup safety and a standout special teams performer. The Lions' special teams captain in 2005, Fox had 20 special teams tackles last season, third most on the team. The former Fresno State star was claimed on waivers by Detroit in 2004 after he played two seasons with the Chargers.

Hopson is a journeyman interior lineman who spent parts of the last two seasons with the Lions and will contend again for a backup spot at guard.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.