Detroit Free Press

Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes took care of an easy piece of pre-draft housekeeping Wednesday, exercising the fifth-year option on Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow’s rookie contract. Ragnow will make a guaranteed $12.657 million in 2022 under terms of the option. NFL Network first reported the decision. MOVIN’ ON UP?: Lions reportedly tried to

Show Caption Hide Caption Former Michigan football player Camaron Cheeseman talks NFL draft with Dave Birkett Former Michigan football long snapper Camaron Cheeseman talked NFL draft preparation and more Detroit Lions chatter on Tuesday, April 27, 2021. Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press Brad Holmes has made it known he is willing to trade up in

The NFL is trying to incentivize players and team personnel to get vaccinated against COVID-19, but one prominent Detroit Lion said he has no plans to get inoculated. “I did not get vaccinated and I’m not going to,” Lions left tackle Taylor Decker said Tuesday. “I’m just not going to speak to the reasons why.

There’s no pressure on you, Brad Holmes. Seriously, none at all. Detroit Lions fans aren’t asking for much. Just hit a home run Thursday night in the first round of your first NFL draft as the general manager of the Lions. Or better yet, trade back and get even more picks — oh goodness, please trade

The Detroit Lions have taken an offensive lineman with two of their past five first-round picks, and one of those choices hopes they go back to that well this week. Left tackle Taylor Decker said Tuesday he would be all for the Lions drafting an offensive lineman with the seventh pick of the first round.

When Detroit Lions defensive lineman Trey Flowers learned of the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial, he wasn’t exactly overjoyed and instead called it “kind of bittersweet.” “Obviously, you know, you don’t want someone to have to lose their life for everybody to stand (for) justice and this to happen and things like that,” Flowers

The NFL is trying to incentivize players and team personnel to get vaccinated against COVID-19, but one prominent Detroit Lion said he has no plans to get inoculated. “I did not get vaccinated and I’m not going to,” Lions left tackle Taylor Decker said Tuesday. “I’m just not going to speak to the reasons why.

Free Press sports reporter Dave Birkett takes a position-by-position look at the top prospects and biggest Detroit Lions needs in the 2021 NFL draft. This is the last in an eight-part series. Linebacker Off-the-ball linebacker is another position where the Lions did just enough work this offseason to have a couple capable starters in place,

He is the biggest boom-bust prospect in this year’s NFL draft, but Miami (Fla.) defensive end Jaelan Phillips wants NFL teams to know their hand-wringing is for naught. “Everybody’s path to success isn’t linear at all,” Phillips said last month at Miami’s pro day. “There’s ups and downs and I think all of that really

Detroit Lions fans should have one prayer, heading into the NFL draft, and it goes like this: Come on San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan. Trust your gut. Take Alabama quarterback Mac Jones. He fits your offense perfectly. He processes information quickly and is a winner, who won the national title at Alabama. Sure, he had all

Free Press sports reporter Dave Birkett takes a position-by-position look at the top prospects and biggest Detroit Lions needs in the 2021 NFL draft. This is the seventh in an eight-part series. Defensive line The Lions have struggled to generate consistent pass rush in recent years, but with limited help available in the draft, they

Ah, the 2021 NFL draft. It’s almost here. Can’t wait, right? Which player will the Detroit Lions draft with the No. 7 pick? Will they go offense or defense? Will they trade back? To quote “Jeopardy!” host Aaron Rodgers, it’s a beautiful mystery. That’s why we love it, especially in Detroit, where the excitement and

Show Caption Hide Caption Ex-Detroit Lions RBs coach Kyle Caskey breaks down NFL draft prospects Former Detroit Lions running backs coach Kyle Caskey shares his thoughts on the backs in the 2021 NFL draft class. Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press Joe Horn had three straight 1,200-yard receiving seasons at the height of his NFL career,

The seventh pick of the 2021 NFL draft has “extreme value,” its owner, Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes, said this week. Holmes has the enviable task of trying to extract maximum value out of that pick, either by using it to nab a cornerstone for the Lions’ rebuild or by dealing it to acquire

Free Press sports reporter Dave Birkett takes a position-by-position look at the top prospects and biggest Detroit Lions needs in the 2021 NFL draft. This is the sixth in an eight-part series. Defensive back The Lions are going young in the secondary in 2021, with their top two cornerbacks and both starting safeties still on their

Brad Holmes has “a good cluster” of players he would feel comfortable drafting at No. 7, but mathematically speaking, it’s anyone’s guess how many prospects that cluster entails. Trevor Lawrence, clearly, is the top player in this draft, and the Detroit Lions are believed to have eyes for LSU receiver Ja’Marr Chase. Presumably, Holmes would

The Detroit Lions are on the clock. Well … they’re six picks away from being on the clock, with the No. 7 overall pick in this year’s NFL draft, which begins Thursday in Cleveland. It’s the franchise’s third straight year drafting in the top 10, after a run of four years drafting in the 11-20

The way NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah sees it, the greatest offseason of quarterback movement in NFL history actually took root two years ago when the Arizona Cardinals hired a newly-deposed college coach amid a growing appetite for risk in the league’s easy-to-manipulate economic system. With new coach Kliff Kingsbury at the helm following his

Free Press sports reporter Dave Birkett takes a position-by-position look at the top prospects and biggest Detroit Lions needs in the 2021 NFL draft. This is the fifth in an eight-part series. Quarterback The Lions are in a weird situation at quarterback. They clearly are in the early stages of a rebuild and have a

Michigan football had 10 players taken in the 2020 NFL draft — one short of tying a program record. The Wolverines likely won’t have as many players selected in this week’s draft. But there are still several players with a very good chance of hearing their name called at some point between Thursday and Saturday