- Lions safety Glover Quin believes teammate Darius Slay is one of the 10 best cornerbacks in the NFL, but there’s one thing missing from his game. “Everybody is going to say it from now until the end of time — he’s a great, great, great cover guy. The only thing that he can do to take it to the next level is intercept the ball. I mean, that’s it,” Quin said Wednesday (via Kyle Meinke of MLive.com). Slay has just four interceptions during his three-year career – all of which came during the previous two campaigns – but Pro Football Focus graded him as the second-best corner in the league last season (111 qualifiers). Thanks to his reputation as a shutdown corner, Slay should land a sizable raise between now and the expiration of his contract after next season. A deal could be in the works, as Slay’s agent – Drew Rosenhaus – was at Lions practice Thursday.
- Drew Rosenhaus, the agent for Darius Slay and Stephen Tulloch, is at the Lions‘ practice facility today, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press tweets. Slay, who changed representation earlier this year, was a 2013 draft pick, making him eligible for an extension when the Lions’ regular season ended. As for Tulloch, the Lions reportedly were set to release him in February, but they may have had a change of heart. Tulloch, 31, has spent the last five years with the Lions.
- The Lions have added an undrafted rookie free agent, inking Central Michigan defensive tackle Louis Palmer to a contract, according to Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com (Twitter link). In order to create a roster spot, Detroit released offensive tackle Lamar Holmes, a veteran of 21 NFL games who signed with the Lions in February.
- Former Saints scout and Jets pro personnel director Brendan Prophett is joining the Lions as their new director of pro scouting, according to Neil Stratton of Inside The League (Twitter link). The move isn’t official yet, but it appears to be the latest change that new GM Bob Quinn is making to Detroit’s personnel department.
- Western Kentucky defensive tackle Jontavius Morris worked out for the Lions on Thursday, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets.
- Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew, who suffered a torn ACL near the end of the 2015 season, said on Tuesday night that he expects to be ready to go for the start of training camp in July, tweets Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com.
- The Lions formally announced today that they’ve signed second-round defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson, who was the 46th overall pick. Detroit had previously locked up its other nine draftees, so the team has now secured its entire 10-man draft class, becoming the third club to do so — Atlanta and Seattle have also finished signing their draft picks.
The Lions have acquired linebacker Jon Bostic from the Patriots, as Field Yates of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). New England will receive a conditional 2017 seventh-round draft pick in return. 
Bostic, a former second-round pick, is no stranger to being traded after a September swap shipped him from the Bears to the Pats. In 2015, he appeared in eleven games (one start) for New England, recording two tackles. Not long ago, however, Bostic was looked at as a promising youngster. As a rookie with the Bears, Bostic played in all 16 games with nine starts on the year. In total, he notched 57 tackles, 2.0 sacks, and an interception in 2013. He followed that up in 2014 with a career high of 83 tackles. Now, he’ll try and get back to his old form with Detroit in 2016.
The swap marks the first deal between Lions GM Bob Quinn and his former team. Given the relationship there and Quinn’s knowledge of Pats player, it wouldn’t be surprising to see more deals go down between the two clubs in the future.
The Pats have also signed defensive lineman Anthony Johnson, as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Way back in February, a report surfaced suggesting that the Lions were planning to release veteran linebacker Stephen Tulloch when the new league year opened. However, the first week of the league year came and went without any roster moves involving Tulloch, and he has remained a Lion for nearly two more full months since then.
Appearing on PFT Live on Monday, Lions general manager Bob Quinn said there’s still “a chance” that Tulloch remains with the team for the 2016 season. However, a source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that the linebacker’s release is likely “imminent.” That comes as no surprise — Detroit reportedly made efforts to work out a trade involving Tulloch, but it seems there hasn’t been any movement on that front.
- The Lions signed undrafted rookie free agent offensive lineman Darius Johnson and waived tackle Tyrus Thompson, Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com tweets.
- Although some expected the Lions to place Taylor Decker at right tackle considering 2012 first-rounder Riley Reiff has started on the left side for the past three seasons, the Ohio State blocker will begin his Detroit tenure at left tackle, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Jim Caldwell did not specify the team’s plans for its first-rounder, but Decker lined up at that position during Saturday’s minicamp workout. Decker started 28 games at left tackle for the Buckeyes during the 2014-15 seasons but played right tackle as a sophomore. Birkett writes that Reiff’s future in Detroit could be tied to Decker’s ability to handle left tackle. Set to play this season on his fifth-year option, Reiff will be a free agent in 2017. Beyond Reiff, the Lions employ Michael Ola and 2015 seventh-rounder Corey Robinson. However, the team signed Geoff Schwartz to a modest accord in the offseason, and although he’s coming off two injury-prone seasons with the Giants, Schwartz has been a quality player at guard and right tackle when healthy. He may make the most sense to play right tackle if Detroit deems Decker its left tackle.