Running back William Powell went all the way to London with the Detroit Lions only to be cut from their practice squad on Wednesday.

Powell arrived in England on Tuesday with the Lions for Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons but one day later learned that he was out of a job and had to go back to the United States.

The Lions released Powell to make room on their practice squad roster for safety Jerome Couplin, who was released Monday by the Lions to add tight end Kellen Davis to the active roster.

“It’s a difficult thing to do, and you certainly would not want to do it — a guy just gets here and, within 48 hours, he’s heading back home,” Lions coach Jim Caldwell said. “But that’s kind of the nature of our business. The guys understand it, and I think, if you’re up front and you tell them exactly why and what the reasons are and those kinds of things, it’s a bitter pill to swallow, but they understand.”

The good news for Powell is that he will receive a paycheck for the week because the roster move was made Wednesday.

“The reason why is because the fact that just, in terms of practice, we need to be really at our best, in terms of making certain that we get a look on both sides,” Caldwell said. “And in case anything happens, we need to be positioned to be able to adjust properly according to what our injury status is at different positions.”