- Sam Houston State pass rusher Derick Roberson had a private workout with Titans head coach Mike Vrabel and general manager Jon Robinson, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. The six-foot-four, 250-pound lineman had a standout season in 2018, finishing with 15 sacks, five forced fumbles, and 20.5 tackles for loss. Lions linebackers coach Al Golden previously met with Roberson during his Pro Day. The pass rusher is expected to be selected on Day 2 of the draft.
- Toledo cornerback Ka’dar Hollman also had a private workout with the Texans, reports Wilson. The defensive back has also had visits and workouts with the Dolphins, Saints, Bears, Colts, Eagles, Lions and Browns. While Hollman has boosted his draft stock following a strong Pro Day, he’s still at best a sixth- or seventh-rounder.
[SOURCE LINK]
Former Lions and Packers guard T.J. Lang has retired from the NFL after ten years in the game. The news was first reported by Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press and Lang confirmed his retirement via social media on Friday. 
“For the past 3,624 days I have woken up with one goal in mind: ‘How can I be a better pro football player than I was yesterday?’ Well, those days are now over,” Lang wrote. “The only thing I ask myself today is how can I be a better husband, father, son, brother, [and] friend. I will forever cherish the great times that I had playing this game.”
In his farewell address, Lang thanked the Packers for his development and the Lions for allowing him to finish his career near his friends and family in Michigan.
“Thank you Green Bay Packers for taking a chance on a 21-year-old kid and giving me the opportunity and patience to grow into a man and reach my full potential as a football player. Thank you Detroit Lions for granting me a chance to finish my career in the place that I call home,” said Lang. “It would’ve been impossible to play this game for ten years without great teammates, coaches, trainers, strength staff, doctors, agents, fans, family, and friends. I thank each and every one of you for the unwavering support over the years. Whatever the next chapter holds, I hope to stay around the game in some capacity. Its been an amazing ride. Thank you all for being a part of it.”
Lang, 31, was released by the Lions earlier this month after spending the past two seasons in Detroit. It’s not a total surprise Lang has decided to hang up his cleats, as he’s dealt with a myriad of injuries throughout his career. Lang ended the 2018 campaign on injured reserve with a neck injury, and last season suffered the sixth known concussion of his playing career.
While Lang only played in 19 of a possible 32 games while in the Motor City, he was relatively durable during his eight-year career with the Packers. After becoming a full-time starter in 2011, Lang proceeded to appear in 91 games over the next six seasons, missing only five contests during that span.
A former fourth-round pick, Lang earned two Pro Bowl nods (one with Green Bay in 2016, the other with Detroit in 2017), and also won a Super Bowl XLV ring with the Packers. Lang wasn’t able to complete the three-year, $28.5MM contract he signed with the Lions in 2017, but he’ll still end his playing days with more than $43MM in career earnings.
PFR extends it best wishes to Lang and his family as he enters his post-playing career.
A look at the details on recent deals from around the NFL:
- Neiko Thorpe, DB (Seahawks): One-year, $1MM. $100K signing bonus $850K base (not guaranteed) (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Brady Henderson).
- Tommylee Lewis, WR, (Lions): One-year, $720K base salary. $50K signing bonus. $920K cap hit (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Michael Rothstein).
- Logan Thomas, TE, (Lions): One-year, $805K base salary. $30K signing bonus. $735K cap hit.
- Andrew Donnal, OL, (Lions): One-year, $805K base salary. $15K signing bonus. $685K cap hit.
- Marcus Cooper, CB (Lions): One-year, $805K base salary. $150K guaranteed. $735K cap hit.
Damon Harrison wants a new contract from the Lions, and he just might get it. Lions GM Bob Quinn says the club plans to discuss the matter with agent Drew Rosenhaus, though a fresh deal for Snacks is not necessarily No. 1 on the team’s to-do list.
“It’s something that I got to talk to (agent) Drew (Rosenhaus) this week (about), and going into the future,” Quinn said (via Justin Rogers of the Detroit News). “Not something that I need to do right now. My priority right now is the draft. We got another month or so before the draft is here, so that’s something that we’ll probably talk about in May or June.”
Harrison, 30, has two years left on his current deal. Typically, teams explore extensions with players when they are one year away from free agency, but Harrison could be an exception after he delivered for the Lions’ D. For now, he’s slated to carry cap hits of $7MM in 2019 and $9.25MM in 2020, with no guaranteed money left on his pact.
For the Lions, a new deal could give them an opportunity to smooth out Harrison’s cap hit in the coming years. It would also keep one of their top defensive players happy, which would be a good idea after Harrison helped them to average just 3.76 yards per carry to opposing teams in 2018.
The Dolphins tried to trade for Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford before the start of the 2018 season, multiple league sources tell Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. The talks did not progress to the point where the Dolphins were asked about what they’d give up, but it’s an indication that the Dolphins were thinking about moving on from Ryan Tannehill earlier than anyone thought. 
Former head coach Adam Gase, Salguero hears, reached out personally to Lions coach Matt Patricia to orchestrate a deal. The belief is that Gase would have offered at minimum Miami’s 2018 first-round pick and probably more. Patricia, however, said he was unwilling to move on from Stafford.
Leading up to the 2018 season, Tannehill missed 20 straight games with a knee injury. But, until word of the Stafford discussions, it was believed that the Dolphins were only looking at QB options in the draft. Ultimately, the Dolphins did not move on a QB class that included Josh Rosen, Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, and Josh Allen. Instead, they stood pat at No. 11 overall and selected defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick.
The Fins did not land Stafford, obviously, but they’ve overhauled the QB room nonetheless. Tannehill was shipped to the Titans earlier this month and Ryan Fitzpatrick is now set to start under center in South Beach.
Damon Harrison is coming off his first season as a member of the Lions, and he’s looking for a raise. The player also known as ‘Snacks’ has approached Detroit’s front office about getting a new deal, a source told Kyle Meinke of MLive.com. 
Harrison had been with the Giants the past several seasons, but New York traded him to the Lions at the trade deadline this past year for a fifth round pick. A defensive tackle, Harrison is widely regarded as an elite stuffer. Last year he received a 92.1 grade from Pro Football Focus, their third-highest grade for any defensive lineman.
Interestingly, Harrison played in 17 games last season since he was traded before the Giants had their bye week but after the Lions already had their’s. A 2016 first-team All-Pro, Harrison had 81 tackles and 3.5 sacks last year. Originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Jets back in 2012, Harrison has two years left on his deal.
Harrison is set to make a $6.75MM base salary in 2019 and $9MM in 2020, and apparently feels he’s underpaid. He’s still only 30, and wants to be locked up longterm by the Lions. Detroit might be hesitant to negotiate with him still having two years left on the deal, but Harrison played great down the stretch for the Lions and could be worth it as Matt Patricia continues to rebuild his defense.
Ezekiel Ansah stands as one of the best pass-rushers remaining on the open market, though many expected him to be off the board by this point in the offseason. As it turns out, teams want to learn more about his surgically repaired shoulder, according to his agent (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). 
The plan, for now, is to wait until Ansah’s follow-up appointment in mid-April to determine his readiness for the upcoming season. That appointment will (roughly) mark the four-month anniversary of his operation, which should give a clearer picture of where Ansah stands in his recovery.
Ansah appeared in just seven games for the Lions last year before his shoulder took him out of action. However, Ansah has shown serious potential in the past with two 12+ sack seasons. As recently as 2017, Ansah profiled as one of the best edge rushers in the game.
The Bills and Saints have both shown interest in Ansah and the Jets could be a potential suitor for him.
Wide receiver Dontrelle Inman will visit with the Lions on Tuesday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Inman has said that he wants to return to the Colts, but he’s exploring other options as well. 
Last year, Inman caught 28 passes for 304 yards and three touchdowns for Indianpolis. Colts GM Chris Ballard hasn’t ruled out re-signing Inman after adding Devin Funchess to the WR group, but he was also non-committal on the idea when addressing the topic last week.
“There’s a difference in age between Dontrelle and Funchess,” Ballard said (via Joel A. Erickson of the Indy Star). “We’re still working through it with Dontrelle. We like Dontrelle a lot, and he had a great year last year, but we’re still working through some details on that.”
Inman joined the Colts in the middle of the 2018 season and turned into a solid No. 2 WR for Andrew Luck. If he doesn’t return to the Colts, he could join a Lions group that includes Marvin Jones, Kenny Golladay, and new addition Danny Amendola.
- The Lions hosted defensive tackle Al Woods for a workout, according to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer (Twitter link). Woods was a fourth round pick of the Saints back in 2010. He’s bounced around since then, and has spent time with six different teams. He was with the Colts for the last two seasons. He played around 36% of the defensive snaps for Indianapolis last year, starting eight games. A run-stuffer who eats up blocks, he finished with 24 tackles and one pass defended. His last deal with the Colts was for two years and $4MM.
Today’s minor moves will be posted here:
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: OL Bryan Witzmann
Detroit Lions
- Signed: OL Andrew Donnal