Detroit News

In the more than three decades Ray Agnew has been part of the NFL, he’s almost exclusively been a background figure. Although, if you know anything about him, he’s contentedly avoided the spotlight.  Yet, Agnew has garnered an immeasurable amount of respect throughout his career, first during his 11 seasons playing defensive line for three franchises, leading to taking

Allen Park — The Detroit Lions established the team’s initial 53-man roster Tuesday afternoon, parting with 26 players. Here are some initial thoughts on the team’s decisions. ► Blough wins backup, for now After the preseason finale Sunday, Lions coach Dan Campbell cryptically said he had clarity regarding the team’s backup quarterback position, but declined to elaborate

Allen Park — The Detroit Lions are required to establish an initial 53-man roster by 4 p.m. Tuesday. We’ll use this space to update you with news and reports of cuts as they happen. Tuesday ► 4:05 p.m. Here’s the full list of players the Lions released, waived or waived/injured to get down to 53: Released: Quarterback Tim

Allen Park — The Detroit Lions are required to establish an initial 53-man roster by 4 p.m. Tuesday. We’ll use this space to update you with news and reports of cuts as they happen. Monday ► 7:35 p.m. After a brutal performance in the preseason finale, the Lions are releasing backup quarterback Tim Boyle. The NFL Network

Allen Park — Last year, Dan Campbell’s first as the coach of the Detroit Lions, he stepped to the podium the day before the team’s final roster cuts were due and announced an initial batch of releases. That group even included a couple of surprises in cornerback Mike Ford and offensive tackle Tyrell Crosby. This year, Campbell

Allen Park — Before Sunday’s preseason finale, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell acknowledged that up to 10 roster spots were up for grabs. And although some battles, such as the backup quarterback competition, left more questions than answers, we were able to get a better understanding of the team’s pending roster construction based on nuances, such

Pittsburgh — Here’s a look at who is trending up and who is trending down coming out of the Detroit Lions’ preseason loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. ► Stock up: Starting defense Different teams, different situations, but Steelers quarterback Mitchell Trubisky has feasted on the Lions in the past. But outside of a long completion on an admittedly perfect throw

Pittsburgh — If there was a clear takeaway from the Detroit Lions’ preseason finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, it’s that the team is in deep trouble if anything happens to starting quarterback Jared Goff. With Goff held out for the dual purpose of keeping him healthy for the regular season, while providing ample opportunity to evaluate

Pittsburgh — Coming back from a ruptured Achilles, the Lions promised cornerback Jeff Okudah nothing more than a chance to compete for a starting job, pitting him head-to-head against converted safety Will Harris throughout training camp. But as the dust settled in the preseason finale, Okudah surged across the finish line to lock up the job. “I feel

Pittsburgh — After a disappointing showing by both of the team’s backup quarterbacks in Sunday’s preseason finale, Lions coach Dan Campbell was cryptic about his assessment of the situation heading into Tuesday’s roster cuts. “Here’s what I would say, I think it became very clear,” Campbell said after the 19-9 loss to the Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. “I

Well that was certainly a preseason finale to remember, but perhaps not for the reasons that Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell hoped entering Week 3 at Pittsburgh. David Blough and Tim Boyle once again struggled to gain control of the Lions’ offense or Detroit’s backup quarterback job, as the Lions didn’t score a touchdown

Michigan State basketball has added another walk-on with a Hall-of-Fame father. Nick Sanders, a 5-foot-9 guard from Detroit Country Day, is on the Spartans’ roster as a walk-on. Sanders is the son of Barry Sanders, the former Lions running back who darted and dashed past defenders for 10 NFL seasons from 1989-98 on his way

Allen Park — The Detroit Lions have reached the end of training camp, and following Sunday’s preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team will have fewer than 48 hours to trim its roster from 80 players to 53. Those decisions are never easy, and you can already sense they’re weighing on Detroit’s assistant coaches, who spent

Allen Park — It never ceases to amaze how quickly what was exciting, shiny and new a year ago is cast aside for the next big thing in the NFL. And although there’s no way the team would characterize it in such terms, in many ways it’s exactly what has happened to Detroit Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes. Arriving

Allen Park — Asked earlier this offseason about a noticeable lack of size along its defensive front, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell agreed and said the team was keeping its eyes open for options to address it. “I do think that we may need a little bit more girth up front,” Campbell said. “I wouldn’t say that we’re not

Allen Park — Kelvin Sheppard didn’t have immediate interest of going into coaching after his eight-year NFL career came to a close, but several months into retirement, he got the itch. As he navigated opportunities at Vanderbilt and LSU, Sheppard called former coach and friend Dan Campbell for counsel. Acknowledging long-term goals to reach the

Allen Park — Earlier this week, the Detroit Lions reduced the team’s roster to 80 players, shifting four to regular-season injured lists. Among that group was rookie receiver Jameson Williams, who will miss at least the first four games of the regular season, and probably more, as he continues to rehab a torn ACL suffered in January.

Now into the heart of training camp, the crew for HBO’s “Hard Knocks” has been around long enough to dive beyond the Detroit Lions’ obvious stories. The documentary series opened this season focusing on the Lions’ coaching staff, a cast of former players with big personalities, as well as first-round draft pick Aidan Hutchinson. And

Allen Park — Rookie safety Kerby Joseph is a long ways away from being a difference-maker for the Detroit Lions. However, the road to contribution is starting to look a lot shorter than it did back in April, when the team drafted him with a third-round pick out of Illinois. Joseph has had an impressive training camp so far.

Allen Park — Here are some notes and observations from Tuesday’s training camp practice. ► A day earlier, Lions coach Dan Campbell previewed Tuesday’s practice — a rare night session at the team’s facility — saying, “It’s going to be our last really good Detroit vs. Detroit practice we’re going to have for camp.” That was a