Watch Roy Lopez's game tape over the last four seasons while he was in Houston and Arizona, and his wrestling background jumps off the screen.

Lopez started wrestling when he was 3 years old and became a two-time state champion with a 113-3 record. The newest Detroit Lions defensive tackle still laments those three losses, in case anyone was wondering.

"I hated to lose more than I loved winning," Lopez told reporters Thursday at the Meijer Performance Center after signing his one-year contract.

"A lot of people say when they watch my tape, it looks like wrestling. In high school I was a two-time champion with 113-3 record and my favorite move was a snap down. When you watch my film, my favorite move is a bull shuck, right, and it's the same movement as wrestling. So it's kind of full circle. I laugh at it. I think it's funny."

Lopez plays with great pad level and leverage, has good hands — all things he credits to wrestling — and he brings a toughness to Detroit's defensive line room that will fit well in their rotation.

"I can tell you exactly what school they went to," he said of those three losses in high school wrestling. "What they look like today. Definitely remember names, height, weight, social security numbers."

While he was joking about the latter, he was quick to point out that he avenged every one of those losses at some point in his career, defeating all three wrestlers later on.

Lopez comes to Detroit after playing the last two seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. In 2024, he started all 16 games he played in, registering 28 tackles, 18 pressures (per Pro Football Focus), four tackles for loss, three quarterback hits, three passes defended, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. That's good production for playing about half of Arizona's defensive snaps as part of their rotation.

He originally entered the NFL as a sixth-round (195th overall) draft selection with the Houston Texans in the 2021 NFL Draft out of Arizona.

In 63 career games (50 starts), Lopez has registered 137 tackles (72 solo), 17 tackles for loss, nine quarterback hits, four passes defended, 3.0 sacks, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble.

He said it was a no brainer for him to join the Lions after playing against them, and losing, Week 3 in Arizona, and seeing first-hand the play style and physicality head coach Dan Campbell has instilled here in Detroit.

"I think the biggest thing is to join a room that on tape when you watch them, you know they play with their hair on fire," Lopez said. "They have the juice and the energy. As a defensive lineman, to join a room like that, it's a no brainer."

With Lopez now in the mix, plus the reported re-signing of veteran Levi Onwuzurike, Detroit's building good depth along the interior of their defensive line with Alim McNeill, DJ Reader, Onwuzurike, Lopez, Mekhi Wingo, Brodric Martin, Myles Adams and Chris Smith.