Detroit News

Allen Park —T.J. Hockenson isn’t about to rest on his laurels. The Detroit Lions tight end, fresh off a Pro Bowl selection in his second season, is spending his offseason looking for opportunities to get better. Some of that is coming from film study, both of his own performance, as well as trying to learn

Allen Park — Frustrated by the league’s lack of a plan amidst surging COVID-19 cases in the state of Michigan, the Detroit Lions veteran players issued a statement through the league’s union last month indicating they wouldn’t attend the voluntary portion of the team’s offseason workouts. Yet on Thursday, 90% of Detroit’s roster was on the field

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On the final day of their team’s first set of OTAs on Thursday, the Detroit Lions were reportedly taking a look at bolstering the team’s backfield, meeting with former All-Pro running back Todd Gurley, according to an ESPN report. Lions first-year general manager Brad Holmes, who came over from the Los Angeles Rams, already has

Defensive tackle Joel Heath suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament during a Lions workout this week and will miss the season, the NFL Network reported Wednesday. Heath, a Michigan State product who signed with Detroit in February, was doing a bag drill during organized team activities when the injury occurred. For subscribers: Film review: Breaking down

Rob Maaddi |  Associated Press NFL commissioner Roger Goodell says the league expects full stadiums this season and players and staff are being encouraged to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. “One of the things we’ve obviously learned over the last year is not to make projections too far out,” Goodell said Wednesday following virtual meetings with team

The Detroit Lions finally announced the uniform numbers for the team’s 90-man roster, with a group of veterans taking advantage of relaxed league rules allowing several position groups to now wear numbers between 1-49. Cornerback Quinton Dunbar, who previous wore 22 and 23 in Seattle and Washington, grabbed the No. 1 he wore at the University

With only one receiver under contract beyond the upcoming season, the Detroit Lions had a glaring need for long-term solutions at the position heading into the 2021 NFL draft. But for the first two days of the event, the team ignored the need, opting to follow their board and select an offensive tackle, two defensive tackles

You can obsess about the quarterback, tout the offensive line, be intrigued by the running backs, lament the thin receiving corps. There’s plenty to debate about the Lions’ offense, and you can bet we’ll be counting Jared Goff’s completions, incompletions, interceptions, smiles, grimaces and backslaps. The new regime starts sorting it out this week during

Greg Beacham |  Associated Press Los Angeles — Matthew Stafford says his offseason thumb surgery isn’t an impediment to anything he wants to do during his first offseason workouts with the Los Angeles Rams. Learning a new offense and getting to know every player in the Rams’ locker room present more than enough challenges for the veteran passer, but

The Detroit Lions added some depth along the offensive line on Monday, signing free agent offensive tackle Darrin Paulo. A three-year starter for the University of Utah, Paulo appeared in 53 games for the Utes, starting 26 at right tackle before earning first-team all-conference honors as a left tackle during his senior season in 2019. Paulo

By Sam Farmer |  Los Angeles Times Quarterback Matthew Stafford has been pretty quiet since the Rams acquired him in a January trade with the Detroit Lions, where the former No. 1 overall draft pick spent the first 12 years of his career. But he opened up on a range of topics this week in a

After the last few seasons of dismal results, Detroit Lions fans are happy to embrace the mantra out with the old and in with the new. But when it comes to the team’s linebacker group, new position coach Mark DeLeone isn’t ready to cast aside one of the poster children of the past regime’s shortcomings.

Detroit Lions defensive passing game coordinator Aubrey Pleasant has worked with some elite cornerbacks during his relatively short NFL coaching career. In four seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, he had the pleasure of coaching Jalen Ramsey, Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters. Between them, that trio has been named to seven All-Pro first teams and selected to

In the NFL, you grow accustomed to secrecy and vague answers, all the name of competitive advantage. So when a coach offers any kind of schematic specifics, it’s refreshing. In his first interview session with local media, new Detroit Lions defensive line coach Todd Wash easily could have fallen back on cliché responses about needing to see the

Almost everything about the Detroit Lions receiving corps is a mystery, down to first-year position coach Antwaan Randle El. New coach, new scheme and, for the most part, new players. The questions extend to the incoming personnel. How will Tyrell Williams bounce back after missing last season with a shoulder injury? How quickly will rookie Amon-Ra St.

Much has been made about the turnover with the Detroit Lions’ receiving corps this offseason, but the team’s tight end room has also undergone a significant makeover. Sure, T.J. Hockenson, the central figure the past two seasons, is back and looking to build on last season’s Pro Bowl campaign. But the Lions still need to

Detroit Lions offensive line coach Hank Fraley is well aware of the rumblings that one of his guys is on the trade block. But, if a market doesn’t develop, and Tyrell Crosby sticks for the 2021 season, Fraley still sees the lineman as a key piece to what the team wants to accomplish up front

They’re used to dealing with pressure. Almost by definition, that’s their job. But as the Lions begin the next phase of their offseason under head coach Dan Campbell, with three days of full-team workouts on the practice field next week, much of the attention will be focused on a group that generally avoids it. The

No one is giving the Detroit Lions much of a chance ahead of the 2021 season. They’re one of two teams, along with the Houston Texans, who aren’t favored in any of their 17 games, and only the Texans have longer Super Bowl odds. And outside of blind optimism, why should it be any other