The 2021 offseason has been one of massive change for the Detroit Lions. And there’s none bigger than one made under center for the Pride. That following a trade that sent longtime quarterback Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams and Pro Bowl passer Jared Goff to the Motor City. With Stafford’s 12-year career in
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Romeo Okwara left potentially millions of dollars on the table when he bypassed free agency to stay in Detroit and play with his brother, Julian. Now, Julian Okwara wants to pay that decision forward by leaving a football legacy with his brother that won’t be easily matched. “I think that’s something we’re definitely excited for,”
Matt Patricia, Detroit Lions (Photo by Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports) Like all teams, the Detroit Lions do have some players under the microscope. But what returning player just might have the most to prove? Detroit principal owner Sheila Ford Hamp hopes that 2021 is the beginning of a golden era for her Lions. An era
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell wore a racing helmet to his news conference last week. He wanted to promote the Detroit Grand Prix and his role as its grand marshal. It was a minor stunt meant to lighten the mood — not that the mood needs lightening these days in Allen Park. Campbell has made sure of that, what with talk of pet
As the summer months begin, the Detroit Lions running back situation has become a hot topic. Not due to lack of talent or a high draft pick. It has more to do with expectations of second-year running back D’Andre Swift, the role of free-agent signing Jamaal Williams and a recent visit from veteran Todd Gurley
In four seasons with the Green Bay Packers, Jamaal Williams became close with quarterback Aaron Rodgers. “Shoot, I love 12,” Williams said Thursday, calling Rodgers by his jersey number. And while the Detroit Lions running back said he wants Rodgers “to do whatever makes him happy” in his current dispute with the Packers, part of
Allen Park — The Detroit Lions’ offseason acquisition of defensive lineman Michael Brockers served multiple purposes. First and foremost, the 6-foot-5, 305-pounder helps fill the franchise’s critical deficiency at generating interior pass-rush pressure. Collectively, Detroit’s interior defensive linemen ranked near the bottom of the NFL last season, while Brockers’ 30 quarterback pressures, as tallied by Pro
When former Detroit Lions running back Kerryon Johnson, now with the Philadelphia Eagles, made a comment on Twitter this week that he hadn’t laughed in practice for years, there’s little mystery to what he meant. Whether Lions players liked his style or not, few had fun practicing and playing for former coach Matt Patricia. The weight of
If you’re looking for a breakout candidate on the Detroit Lions defense this fall, look no further than Tracy Walker. The fourth-year safety has shown flashes of brilliance in his first three NFL seasons, but for a variety of reasons has not been able sustain his excellence on the field. Walker said Thursday he is
Duce Staley had interest from other teams, but with ambitions to be an NFL head coach, he thought his best path to achieving his goal would be with the Detroit Lions. Here, he’s serving as Dan Campbell’s assistant head coach, while also managing the team’s running backs. Staley, a 10-year NFL veteran who has spent the past decade
If you’re looking for a breakout candidate on the Detroit Lions defense this fall, look no further than Tracy Walker. The fourth-year safety has shown flashes of brilliance in his first three NFL seasons, but for a variety of reasons has not been able sustain his excellence on the field. Walker said Thursday he is
There was understandable jubilation within the Okwara family when the Detroit Lions drafted Julian out of Notre Dame a year ago, offering him a chance to play on the same team with his older brother Romeo for the first time in their lives. But that first year didn’t turn as they might have hoped. While
The Detroit Lions are continuing their efforts to add former Pro Bowl running back Todd Gurley to the roster, but in the meantime, the team added depth to the backfield, signing free agent Michael Warren. Undrafted out of Cincinnati a year ago, Warren has had brief stints with the Eagles, Panthers and Washington Football Team.
The way outside observers discuss position switches for football players, you would think it would be easy. A cornerback is too slow, move him to safety. An offensive tackle doesn’t have long enough arms, just put him at guard. But the reality is there is a tremendous amount of nuance that goes into each position, and
If you are a fan of the Detroit Lions, get ready to hear the word “potential” a lot in the coming months. It’s a word that will likely be used ad nauseam to describe a team in the midst of a promising rebuild. In this case, the word “promising” means a team that should get
Sometimes news conferences are boring — for everyone. And sometimes they provide quotes like this, from Lions running back, Jamaal Williams, who used to play for the Green Bay Packers, and was asked about the Aaron Rodgers’ saga Thursday after practice: “I’m focused on these Detroit Lions, baby. I ain’t doing nothing else. I’m worried about getting us right, you
Allen Park — It’s only a practice without pads in early June, but Jamaal Williams is leaving imprints every chance he gets. He figures he’s got some catching up to do. On one particularly stirring play during a 7-on-7 drill Thursday, he caught a short pass, split the linebackers, juked the safety and churned untouched
Respected longtime Green Bay Packers beat writer Tom Silverstein caught my attention with a comment he made on Twitter back in March, after the Detroit Lions signed Tim Boyle to be their backup quarterback. “Good signing for the #Lions,” Silverstein wrote. “He will push Goff for the starting job.” That was a wowser of a prediction considering
One day after the NFL pledged to halt the use of “race norming” in assessing brain injury claims by its former players, two Detroit Lions assistants, both ex-NFL running backs, decried the practice as “insulting.” “It’s comical to me,” Lions offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn said. “It’s insulting. It’s just another hole that we have to
Allen Park — The Detroit Lions have waived fullback Nick Bawden. The departure comes three seasons after Detroit selected the 245-pounder in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL Draft. In three years with the franchise, Bawden has struggled to stay on the field. He missed his rookie season after suffering a torn ACL during the offseason