ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- The Detroit Lions lost one defensive end to free agency Thursday when one of last season’s starters, Willie Young, signed with Chicago.

A few hours later, the Lions filled the roster hole left by Young with Darryl Tapp, who is joining the team from Washington. He would be Detroit’s fourth signing of the free-agent period and the second defensive lineman to join the club Thursday, along with Vaughn Martin.

Tapp played 11 games with Washington last season, making nine tackles and recording one sack. Prior to last season, he spent four years in Philadelphia and his first four seasons in the league with Seattle. He was a second-round draft pick of the Seahawks in 2006 out of Virginia Tech.

Tapp had a negative overall grade by Pro Football Focus last season and he played in only 81 defensive snaps. His snap counts have declined each year since 2008, when he played 702 defensive plays and had a career-high 54 tackles.

Tapp hasn’t started a game since 2011 with Philadelphia and hasn’t been a full-time starter since the 2008 season with Seattle.

With Detroit, the 29-year-old, who will turn 30 in September, will likely be a depth defensive end. This could signal that the Lions feel comfortable with either the recovery of Jason Jones from his season-ending patellar tendon injury or the progression of Devin Taylor from his rookie season until now. Tapp will likely be the fourth defensive end in the rotation.

He made $865,000 last season with Washington and had a cap number of $580,000. His cap number has only been over $1 million twice in his career – in 2010 and 2011 with Philadelphia.