Lions To Hire Ray Agnew As Assistant GM

The Rams will lose another front office staffer to Detroit. New Lions general manager Brad Holmes will bring Ray Agnew with him as assistant GM, according to Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).

Agnew, a former first-round pick who won a Super Bowl as a member of the Rams later in his career, worked as the team’s director of pro scouting for the past four years. The Lions are committing to the Rams’ scouting directors going forward, with Holmes coming over after serving as Los Angeles’ college scouting director.

An 11-year NFL veteran who started at defensive tackle for the 1999 Rams team that won Super Bowl XXXIV, Agnew broke into the personnel ranks with the Jets before joining the Rams front office. Having made the playoffs in three of the past four years, the Rams have seen teams pay attention at hiring time. The team has lost two execs and defensive coordinator Brandon Staley this offseason.

While the Rams will receive two third-round picks for the Lions’ hire of Holmes, due to the NFL’s Rooney Rule revision incentivizing teams that lose minorities to GM or head coaching positions, no such compensation will come from Agnew’s departure. But Les Snead will need to replace two key staffers now.

Agnew will join two-time GM John Dorsey on Holmes’ staff, which has begun the process of finding top value for Matthew Stafford. The Lions began trade talks Tuesday.

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