Detroit Free Press

They were drowning, with five straight losses and a secondary so bad they cost their position coach his job. Cornerback Jerry Jacobs said morale had dipped to the point “we felt like we were losing each other.” On Thursday, a few Detroit Lions veterans got together and called a player’s-only meeting on defense. The idea,

Yes, we’re at the point of the Detroit Lions schedule where we’re watching scoreboards and checking strength of schedule. No, not for playoff positioning. But rather for 2023 NFL draft positioning. After last week’s games, the Lions held the No. 1 overall pick, but the Lions beating the Packers, 15-9, on Sunday at Ford Field

Free Press sports writer Dave Birkett grades the Detroit Lions in their 15-9 win over the Green Bay Packers at Ford Field. Quarterback Jared Goff’s play has tailed off since a hot start to the season. He threw his seventh interception of the year in Sunday’s third quarter and easily could have had three more

The Detroit Lions showed impressive signs of life at the end of a tough week. The Lions got their best defensive performance of the season Sunday, intercepting three Aaron Rodgers passes and coming up with a big red zone stop in the final minute to snap a five-game losing streak with a 15-9 win over

Josh Reynolds felt his back lock up when he reached to catch a pass Wednesday in practice, the product, he thinks, of trying to overcompensate for a knee injury he has been dealing with the past month. Reynolds will get a chance to rest both injuries today as the Detroit Lions deactivated their No. 2

Antwaan Randle El can’t remember the details, but he can remember the feeling. The Detroit Lions wide receivers coach was in his playing days with the Washington football team when the organization rid itself of a player in a move that put everyone on notice. The transaction was met with bewilderment in the locker room, but it also lit

Brandon and Shane Zylstra have never played a football game together in their lives. That will change Sunday when the Detroit Lions host the Green Bay Packers at Ford Field. The Lions elevated both Brandon, a wide receiver, and Shane, a tight end, from their practice squad to their gameday roster Saturday. Brandon, four years

Free Press sports writers predict the Detroit Lions’ game vs. the Green Bay Packers on Sunday at Ford Field (1 p.m., Fox): Dave Birkett Neither the Lions nor the Packers are a very good team right now. The Lions have serious defensive issues that won’t be fixed by the firing of one position coach and

After losing two linebackers/pass-rushers to first-day picks in the 2022 NFL draft, Michigan football may have another first-rounder on its hands. ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. released his latest top-25 rankings for the class of 2023 this week. This could be of interest to Detroit Lions fans, who will likely see their team draft

Josh Reynolds hopes his balky back will improve enough by Sunday to play against the Green Bay Packers. The Detroit Lions are not optimistic that will happen. The Lions listed Reynolds as doubtful on their injury report Friday after the Lions’ second-leading receiver missed his second straight practice with a back injury. Reynolds said his

The Detroit Lions have been the worst second-half team in the NFL this season, and it’s costing them a chance to win games. The Lions have not scored in the third or fourth quarter of their past three games, blowing halftime leads in two of those contests. They’ve allowed a league-high 127 points in the

One of the first things doctors did when they ushered Amon-Ra St. Brown into the blue medical tent at AT&T Stadium last month was give the Detroit Lions receiver a list of 10 words he had to repeat. St. Brown, who had been pulled from the Lions’ Oct. 23 game against the Dallas Cowboys after

The Detroit Lions have run a fake punt in more than 20% of their games under head coach Dan Campbell, converting five of six attempts. But Lions special teams coordinator Dave Fipp said Thursday he has called “plenty more” fakes that “just haven’t gotten off the ground because we haven’t gotten” the right look. “I

“Next man up” is the biggest cliche in football, and an idea the Detroit Lions have latched onto this week. But there is a personal side to the sport, too, one offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn experienced in recent days as the Lions made significant changes to their 1-6 team. Glenn

Brad Holmes is right. He would’ve traded T.J. Hockenson if the Detroit Lions were 6-1 … for in-his-prime Rob Gronkowski or Tony Gonzalez or Antonio Gates or George Kittle or Travis Kelce or any other Hall of Fame-level tight end. But for a second- and third-round pick? Absolutely not. Holmes can say all he wants

First of all, let’s deal with the silliness. Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes told a fib on Wednesday, talking about why he traded T.J. Hockenson to the Minnesota Vikings. “This move was not reflective of our record,” he said with a straight face, an impressive feat on its own. “If our record was reversed,

Two starters in the Detroit Lions secondary said they were caught off guard by Dan Campbell’s decision to move on from defensive pass game coordinator Aubrey Pleasant this week and blame themselves for their coach’s firing. “Me personally, I feel like it was our fault he got fired,” Lions safety DeShon Elliott told the Free

For two straight years, as the Los Angeles Rams were chasing Super Bowls, Jared Goff was on a team that made trade deadline deals to acquire big-name players who energized the locker room. In 2018, the Rams traded two draft picks to the Jacksonville Jaguars for pass rusher Dante Fowler. A year later, a week

The Detroit Lions are 1-6 and have the worst record in the NFL, but general manager Brad Holmes insisted Wednesday he still would have traded tight end T.J. Hockenson to the Minnesota Vikings for the swap of draft picks he received had the Lions been 6-1 and leading their division. “This move was not reflective

The Detroit Lions are 1-6 and have the worst record in the NFL, but general manager Brad Holmes insisted Wednesday he still would have traded tight end T.J. Hockenson to the Minnesota Vikings for the swap of draft picks he received had the Lions been 6-1 and leading their division. “This move was not reflective