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Detroit Lions News & Rumors

Lions To Sign Rashaan Melvin

March 22nd, 2019 at 7:35pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Lions have been active in free agency, and they’re making another move. Detroit is signing cornerback Rashaan Melvin to a one-year deal, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN (Twitter link).

The Lions brought Melvin in for a visit on Wednesday, and apparently liked what they saw. Per Schefter, the deal will pay Melvin $3.5MM. Melvin comes to the Lions after spending the 2018 season with the Raiders. He began the year as a starter, but didn’t play well and was benched. He ended up making 14 appearances for Oakland, with seven starts.

His down year with the Raiders was somewhat surprising, since he was coming off a couple of strong years with the Colts. In 2017 he appeared in ten games, starting all ten, and had three interceptions with 13 passes defended. He got $5.5MM from the Raiders last offseason, so his most recent campaign clearly hurt his market value.

The Northern Illinois product will now get a much-needed fresh start. Overall, it’s a nice low-risk signing for a Lions team that is in the middle of rebuilding their defense in Matt Patricia’s vision. If Melvin can get back to his pre-2018 form, he could be a nice addition to Detroit’s secondary alongside Darius Slay.

Rams Retain RB Malcolm Brown

March 22nd, 2019 at 9:26am CST by Zachary Links

Malcolm Brown isn’t going anywhere. On Friday, the Rams matched the Lions’ offer sheet for the running back, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. 

Brown will earn $3.3MM in base salary across his two-year deal. The pact includes $2.1MM in “practical guarantees” between his $1MM base salary and $1.1MM roster bonus, which will be paid on April 15.

Brown ended the 2018 season on injured reserve, but the Rams believe in his potential after he averaged 4.9 yards per carry. He obviously won’t start with Todd Gurley in front of him, but the Rams can use the insurance given Gurley’s ongoing knee trouble.

A 2015 UDFA, Brown has been with the Rams his entire career. Unfortunately, a clavicle injury that prevented him from playing in the team’s three playoff games. C.J. Anderson had a nice run upon joining the Rams, but Brown is now primed to resume his role as Gurley’s understudy.

Meanwhile, the Lions will have to look elsewhere for backup RB help. They’ve re-signed Zach Zenner and they still have pass-catching specialist Theo Riddick, but it sounds like they want a strong traditional runner behind star Kerryon Johnson.

Lions Host LB Brandon Copeland

March 21st, 2019 at 9:26pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Lions met with free agent edge rusher Brandon Copeland on Wednesday, according to NFL reporter Howard Balzer (Twitter link).

Copeland, 27, already has experience with Detroit, as he played for the club from 2015-17 under former head coach Jim Caldwell. While the Lions visit marked the first official meeting of Copeland’s free agent period, he has drawn interest from the Patriots and Redskins, although neither team has scheduled a sit-down.

After going undrafted out of Penn in 2015, Copeland spent three seasons with the Lions as a special-teamer, topping 300 ST snaps in both 2015 and 2016. He suffered a torn pectoral the following year and missed all of the 2017 campaign, and subsequently signed a one-year deal with Gang Green in 2018. Last year was a breakout season for Copeland, as he saw action on a career-high 611 defensive snaps and posted five sacks, tied for third-best on the Jets’ roster.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/21/19

March 21st, 2019 at 9:04pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Detroit Lions

Miami Dolphins

Oakland Raiders

Lions Host Al Woods

March 21st, 2019 at 6:03pm CST by Dallas Robinson
  • The Lions hosted defensive tackle Al Woods on Wednesday, according to NFL reporter Howard Balzer (Twitter link). Woods is now entering his age-32 season and didn’t perform well in 2018 (bottom-20 DT among 112 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus), so he likely won’t command much guaranteed money. Detroit is already well-stocked in the middle of its defensive line with Damon Harrison, A’Shawn Robinson, and Da’Shawn Hand in tow.

Lions’ Tavon Wilson Takes Pay Cut

March 21st, 2019 at 10:09am CST by Zachary Links

Lions cornerback Tavon Wilson has accepted a pay cut to stay on board, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Instead of earning $2.15MM this year, he’ll make just $1MM. 

Last year, the Lions re-signed Wilson to a two-year, $7MM contract. In the first year of his new pact, Wilson was used mostly as a reserve and also saw some time on special teams.

Under the previous terms of his deal, the Lions could have released Wilson to save $2.9MM against $875K in dead money. Instead, Wilson will stay put with increased odds of making the final cut.

In other Lions news, the club met with free agent linebacker Manti Te’o this week.

Lions Meet With Manti Te’o

March 20th, 2019 at 11:18am CST by Zachary Links

The Lions hosted Saints free agent linebacker Manti Te’o on a visit, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Te’o, who also recently met with the Raiders, could be set to move on from New Orleans. 

The seem fairly well set at middle linebacker with Alex Anzalone, Craig Robertson, and Darnell Sankey in the fold, so the Saints might only be willing to go so far to retain the 28-year-old Te’o. Te’o, meanwhile, would probably prefer a situation that offers more playing time.

Te’o just finished a two-year pact that he signed with the Saints in 2017 and saw action in just five contests (two starts) last year, compiling 18 total tackles. However, in 2017, he started in eleven games and played reasonably well.

For his career, Te’o has started in 47 contests, though he’s lost a good deal of time to injuries since entering the league as a second-round pick in 2013. If he signs with Detroit, he may have a path to more playing time, provided that he can stay on the field.

Lions Sign Rams’ Brown To Offer Sheet

March 19th, 2019 at 4:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

Rams reserve running back Malcolm Brown agreed to the terms of an offer sheet with the Lions, Field Yates of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). The Rams have until Monday to match it and retain Brown.

The Lions’ offer sheet is worth $3.25MM over two years, with $1MM guaranteed and a $100K signing bonus, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets.

A 2015 UDFA, Brown has been with the Rams his entire career. However, the restricted free agent visited the Lions last week. Since Los Angeles placed an original-round tender on the back, Detroit will not need to surrender any draft compensation in order to pry Brown away.

Brown suffered a clavicle injury that prevented him from playing in the team’s three playoff games. The Rams then signed C.J. Anderson, and the well-traveled-in-2018 back thrived behind Todd Gurley. Anderson remains a free agent, but given his quick assimilation in Sean McVay‘s offense, he would be a candidate to return and back up Gurley — especially given the injury-related uncertainty surrounding the starter. The Rams also have 2018 sixth-round pick John Kelly on their roster, so this process may end up with Brown in Detroit.

The Lions re-signed Zach Zenner and still have Theo Riddick, but Brown may profile as a better run-downs backup for Kerryon Johnson.

Brown, 25, averaged 4.9 yards per carry last season. He received 63 and 43 carries, respectively, the past two seasons, playing behind a first-team All-Pro. With Johnson coming off a rookie season limited to 10 games, it would stand to reason Brown would receive more work in Detroit.

Lions Sign WR Tommylee Lewis

March 19th, 2019 at 1:54pm CST by Zachary Links

The Lions have signed wide receiver Tommylee Lewis, per a club announcement. The former Saints receiver visited the Lions late last week and, days later, they’ve inked a deal. 

Lewis was non-tendered by the Saints earlier this month, making him an unrestricted free agent. The 26-year-old has 20 career receptions, but he’s spent the majority of his three-year career on special teams. Lewis averaged 22 yards on kick returns and 9.3 yards on punt returns during his stint in New Orleans.

The Lions recently added one potential returner in Danny Amendola, and they’re also rostering Jamal Agnew, who had 40 combined returns for Detroit in 2018. We’re still awaiting terms of the deal, but it sounds like Lewis may have to compete for his place on the team.

Lewis also met with the Jets before inking his deal with Detroit.

Rashaan Melvin To Visit Lions

March 18th, 2019 at 6:26pm CST by Rory Parks

Well-traveled cornerback Rashaan Melvin will visit the Lions on Wednesday, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Melvin started seven games for the Raiders last season, and he was a solid regular with the Colts in his two seasons in Indianapolis prior to that.

He did not have an impressive 2018 campaign with Oakland after signing a one-year, $5.5MM pact with the club last March, but he is certainly a capable CB. Following a breakout season in 2016, Melvin was just as productive in 2017, finishing with 36 tackles, three interceptions, and 13 passes defended. Pro Football Focus was particularly fond of his performance that year, ranking him 17th among 120 eligible cornerbacks.

The fact that he butted heads with Raiders head coach Jon Gruden last season is unlikely to be held against him. In Detroit, Melvin could start on the outside opposite Pro Bowler Darius Slay.

The Lions have already addressed their defensive backfield in free agency by adding slot corner Justin Coleman last week, and they’re obviously not done.

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