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Detroit Lions News & Rumors

Lions Activate Kerryon Johnson Off IR

December 21st, 2019 at 2:56pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Lions are set to have an opportunity to see their top running back in action two more times this season. They are activating Kerryon Johnson from IR in advance of their Week 16 game in Denver, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

Johnson has been out since Week 7 with a knee injury. He returned to practice nearly three weeks ago and will be back on Detroit’s 53-man roster. With Johnson having spent much of his career on IR, these two lower-stakes (for the Lions) games will take on greater importance for the second-year running back.

This move appears to come with some risk, especially in a lost season. The 2018 second-round pick missed six games as a rookie with a knee injury. Johnson, who’s played in six games this season, remains the Lions’ top backfield investment and figures to go into 2020 as the team’s starter. But given the Auburn alum’s injury issues, these two games could help determine whether the team opts to add backfield competition next year.

This season has obviously not gone well for Johnson, whose yards-per-carry average dropped to 3.3 from the 5.4-yard mark he posted as a rookie. He’s totaled 434 yards from scrimmage in 2019. The Lions have seen considerable backfield turnover this season and have recently used second-year back Bo Scarbrough as their starter.

To make room on their 53-man roster, the Lions placed linebacker Christian Jones on IR. They also promoted defensive end Jonathan Wynn from their practice squad. Jones joins fellow starting linebacker Jarrad Davis on IR.

Lions Ownership Has No Plans To Sell Team

December 19th, 2019 at 11:09am CST by Rory Parks

There has been some speculation that the Ford family would be selling the Lions in the near future, speculation that was largely fueled by long-time Detroit sportscaster Eli Zaret, who said on a recent podcast that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos would buy the team in 2020.

But per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, that is not the case. Team president Rod Wood said there has indeed been outside interest in purchasing the Lions, but Wood said there have been no serious discussions in that regard. Controlling owner Martha Ford is 94, and while she remains just as involved and visible as any other controlling owner — as Birkett writes, she is an active participant in league meetings and regularly meets with head coach Matt Patricia to discuss the franchise — the team obviously needs a succession plan.

And while neither Wood, Ford, nor Ford’s daughter, Sheila Ford Hamp, have disclosed the details of that succession plan, Wood has consistently maintained that the team will remain in the Ford family, just as it has been for the past 60 years. The franchise has not experienced a great deal of success in that time, and fans have been plenty vocal about their desire to have the Fords sell the team, but that does not appear likely to happen anytime soon.

It seems that Ford Hamp may take over as controlling owner when Ford is no longer able to serve in that capacity. As Birkett notes, Ford Hamp has taken a bigger role in running the franchise in recent seasons. She is one of the four vice chairs of the Lions, and she began serving on the NFL’s Super Bowl and Major Events Committee this spring.

Recently, Ford indicated that Patricia and GM Bob Quinn would be back with the team next season.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/18/19

December 18th, 2019 at 3:58pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

New York Giants

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/17/19

December 17th, 2019 at 9:12pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:

Denver Broncos

  • Signed: S P.J. Locke, DL Jay-Tee Tiuli

Detroit Lions

Jacksonville Jaguars

New York Giants

New York Jets

Tennessee Titans

NFL Workout Updates: 12/17/19

December 17th, 2019 at 9:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Tuesday’s notable workout updates:

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Los Angeles Chargers

  • LB Cameron Judge*, LB Nick Usher*

Washington Redskins

 

* = CFL player

Lions Place Matthew Stafford On IR

December 17th, 2019 at 3:16pm CST by Zachary Links

The Lions have placed Matthew Stafford on IR. With that, the quarterback’s season is officially over. 

[RELATED: Lions To Retain Matt Patricia, GM Bob Quinn For 2020]

Stafford started 136 consecutive games before missing Detroit’s Week 10 contest again the Bears in November. In eight starts, the 31-year-old Stafford threw for nearly 2,500 yards, 19 touchdowns, and five interceptions while ranking eighth in ESPN’s Total Quarterback Rating.

Meanwhile, the Lions have sagged to a 3-10-1 record. There was little sense in jeopardizing Stafford’s health in the final games of the season, so the move to IR was widely expected, even as Stafford pushed for a return.

“Because this is what I do,” Stafford said in November, when asked why he wants to play this year. “I understand your question, but this is what I love to do. I love playing football. I appreciate all the hard work that all the guys in this locker room and in this organization put into going out there and trying to win games on Sunday and I love being a part of that.”

“It’s tough for me to sit there without the pads on and not be able to impact the game on the field the way I’m used to doing,” Stafford said. “That’s driving me to get back out there, and whenever we all deem it’s the right time for me to get back out there, I’ll be out there.”

Stafford will be back out there in 2020, when he continues on his five-year, $135MM deal with the Lions. Stafford is tied to the club through 2022 and will count for a $31.5MM cap figure next season.

Lions To Retain Matt Patricia, GM Bob Quinn For 2020

December 17th, 2019 at 2:05pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

2019 has obviously been a very disappointing season for the Lions, but they aren’t going to be shaking things up too much this offseason. Both head coach Matt Patricia and GM Bob Quinn will return next season, owner Martha Ford told reporters on Tuesday. Patricia is in his second year as head coach after previously serving as New England’s defensive coordinator. Quinn has been the GM since 2016, and also came over from the Patriots.

Feb 28, 2018; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Detroit Lions coach Matt Patricia speaks to the media during the 2018 NFL Combine at the Indianapolis Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Ford also told reporters that the expectation is the Lions will compete for a playoff spot next year, essentially saying outright that a repeat performance won’t be tolerated. Ford also shot down rumors that the family was considering selling the team. All that being said, that doesn’t mean everybody is going to make it through. “Other staff changes are possible” still, tweets Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. The defense has been a glaring weakness, and it certainly wouldn’t be surprising if defensive Paul Pasqualoni found himself out of a job at the end of the season.

In recent weeks there had been a lot of speculation about Patricia’s job status and talk that he could get fired, but he never seemed too worried and now we know why. It seems likely that Patricia and Quinn’s futures will now be tied together, and if one of them is given the boot after next season then they both will be. Detroit got off to a hot start this season with a 2-0-1 record, but things fell apart rapidly.

They came within a play of beating the Chiefs and moving to 3-0-1 the following week, but came up short. A one-point loss to the Packers followed, and then things spiraled out of control. All told, they’ve now lost ten of their last 11 games. They’ve suffered a rash of injuries, most notably to quarterback Matthew Stafford. Stafford has missed the past six games, and they’ve now gone from Jeff Driskel to undrafted rookie David Blough under center.

Clearly ownership believes the injuries were to blame for the disaster of a season, and they’ll get at least one more chance to run it back. Fortunately for Quinn and Patricia, they’ll have a high draft pick at their disposal. There was a local media report that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos had interest in buying the Lions, but the franchise shot that down emphatically, per Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com.

“We’ve been approached about interest in buying the team, but there’s been no serious discussions,” team president Rod Wood said. “And the Ford family plans to own the team and there’s [succession] plans in place.” We heard last month that Bezos was interested in buying a team, but it apparently won’t be the Lions.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/16/19

December 16th, 2019 at 8:44pm CST by Rory Parks

Here are today’s minor moves:

Detroit Lions

Miami Dolphins

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Signed off Cowboys‘ practice squad: WR Cyril Grayson

Lions Put Mike Daniels, Kenny Wiggins On IR

December 16th, 2019 at 2:36pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Lions are shutting down a couple of veterans with two games to go in their disappointing season. Defensive lineman Mike Daniels and offensive lineman Kenny Wiggins are going on injured reserve, according to Tim Twentyman of the team’s official site (Twitter link). Wiggins has a torn bicep and will undergo surgery on Tuesday, according to a tweet from Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com. 

Both players went down during the team’s loss to Tampa Bay this past week. This will wrap up an extremely disappointing first season in Detroit for Daniels. He was one of the biggest names cut during training camp when the Packers suddenly released him back in July. He got a whopping $9.1MM to sign a one-year deal with the division rival Lions, and will end the season only having appeared in nine games. Even when healthy he wasn’t playing that large of a role, and he’ll finish with only ten tackles and one sack.

Daniels made a name for himself in Green Bay, and he made the Pro Bowl in 2017. When he was cut following an injury-plagued 2018 campaign, he was highly sought after on the open market. Set to turn 31 in May, he’ll likely have to settle for a cheap prove-it deal this offseason. Wiggins is a versatile vet who started all 16 games at right guard for the Chargers in 2017.

He signed a two-year, $5MM deal with Detroit before last season, and started ten games in 2018. He only started three games this year but the Lions utilized an unusual guard rotation for most of the year, so he was playing heavy snaps all season. He’s played just shy of 44 percent of the offensive snaps on the year.

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