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Detroit Lions News & Rumors

Lions Notes: Stafford, GM Search, Ford

November 10th, 2015 at 11:01am CST by Luke Adams

Since GM Martin Mayhew and president Tom Lewand were fired last week by the Lions, the latest rumors and speculation in Detroit have centered on quarterback Matthew Stafford, whose future with the club beyond the 2015 season is somewhat uncertain. Still, speaking to FOX2 in Detroit on Monday, Stafford said he wasn’t caught up in thoughts about his long-term outlook, as Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com details.

“I don’t think it helps, you know, for me to sit there and think about it,” Stafford said. “I’m doing a disservice to the other guys in the locker room preparing to win games on Sundays to sit there and worry about what the future holds. I’m trying to play as good of football as I possibly can and help the Lions win. … I love playing here. I’ve enjoyed it. We’ll see what happens. Hopefully I’m here for a long time.”

Here’s more on the Lions:

  • Despite those Stafford rumors, some people around the league think the idea that the team would move him in the offseason is “crazy talk,” writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. As Florio notes, Stafford may not be a top-10 quarterback, but he’s not a bottom-10 option either, so the Lions are unlikely to let him go unless they have a viable plan in place for his replacement.
  • Gil Brandt of NFL.com (Twitter link) reported over the weekend that the Lions have hired a search firm to help the franchise identify and hire a new president and general manager. Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press spoke to Ernie Accorsi and Ron Wolf, who have served as consultants for teams’ GM searches in recent years, about what that process entails.
  • In an ESPN.com piece, Rothstein lays out a few characteristics the team will be looking for in its next general manager.
  • Lions owner Martha Ford addressed the players on Monday, introducing the replacements for Mayhew and Lewand, and telling the team “in no uncertain terms that she expects the Lions to start playing better football,” Birkett writes for the Free Press.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/9/15

November 9th, 2015 at 6:37pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor signings, cuts, and other moves from around the NFL:

  • The Buccaneers activated Demar Dotson from IR-DTR, as Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets. He’ll be taking the place of cornerback Tim Jennings, who has been waived, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
  • The Lions were awarded defensive end C.J. Wilson off waivers from Raiders, as Wilson tweets. He’ll have a place on the roster now that the Lions have placed Andre Fluellen on injured reserve, Wilson tweets.
  • The Eagles (on Twitter) announced that they have officially re-signed linebacker Emmanuel Acho.
  • The Browns waived linebacker Jayson DiManche and defensive back De’Ante Saunders, Wilson Post tweets. DiManche, 25, was signed by Cleveland off of the Chiefs’ taxi squad in October. For his career, DiManche has appeared in 29 total games, mostly with the Bengals.
  • In need of a third reserve offensive lineman for Monday night, the Chargers placed center Chris Watt (shoulder) on IR while promoting guard Craig Watts from the taxi squad, as Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego tweets. Watt, a third-round pick in 2014, has yet to really produce at the NFL level thanks to various injuries.
  • The Chiefs cut wide receiver Frankie Hammond, Wilson tweets.

Latest On The Lions

November 8th, 2015 at 9:27am CST by Rory Parks

Although the news will not exactly come as a surprise, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes that Lions head coach Jim Caldwell remains “under review” and could be fired by the end of the season. Detroit, of course, began making sweeping changes to its power structure earlier this week when the club parted ways with with general manager Martin Mayhew and president Tom Lewand, and given the Lions’ tremendously disappointing season, it is widely expected that Caldwell will not be far behind.

If Caldwell is, in fact, terminated, La Canfora writes that current defensive coordinator Teryl Austin would become a strong candidate to take the reins, at least on an interim basis. Indeed, if the Lions are going to fire Caldwell anyway, it may behoove them to fire him sooner rather than later and give Austin a few weeks at the helm prior to the end of the season.

Both La Canfora and Dave Birkett of The Detroit Free Press speculate as to how the team will structure its front office moving forward. Although owner Martha Ford announced the Mayhew and Lewand firings, Birkett writes that Ford “has made a point to involve her children in major organizational decisions, and no one has her ear more now than her second-oldest daughter, Sheila Ford Hamp.” Hamp, her husband, and Rod Wood, the CEO of Ford Estates, have had an increased presence around the club in recent months, while Birkett and La Canfora report that William Clay Ford, Jr. now has a far less prominent role with the team. Per La Canfora, Hamp could find herself as team president, and Birkett writes that she will at the very least play a major part in assembling the Lions’ new front office.

Birkett adds that the team is expected to maintain the same management pattern it has employed for the past seven seasons. In other words, the Lions will select a president or chief operating officer to run the business side of the organization while adding a general manager who oversees the football side.

Of course, the job as Lions’ general manager will be an attractive one, although GM candidates will undoubtedly want the inner dynamics of team ownership to be sorted out before agreeing to accept the position. As far as on-field personnel, La Canfora writes that the future of quarterback Matthew Stafford will be one of the key issues to be addressed when the team interviews prospective GMs.

Several clubs informed La Canfora that, if they had known Detroit was on the verge of such major changes to its front office, they would have certainly pursued Stafford at the trade deadline. Those same sources indicate that, if the Lions do try to trade Stafford this offseason, they will find a very healthy market for him. The Lions, who had the misfortune of selecting early in the draft multiple times under the old collective bargaining agreement, have been consequently burdened with exorbitant contracts that have put severe restrictions on their cap flexibility. If they were to deal Stafford–and his contract is easily tradeable–they could begin to restock their roster with younger and cheaper talent. It seems, then, that the front office shakeup the Lions initiated earlier this week was just the tip of the iceberg.

 

NFL Mailbags: Titans, Panthers, Lions

November 7th, 2015 at 10:47am CST by Ben Levine

It’s Saturday, and that means ESPN.com’s NFL writers are opening their mailbags and answering questions from readers. Let’s check out some of the more interesting notes, with a cameo from Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com…

  • Wyatt wonders if Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt may have lost the lockerroom after having gone 3-20 over the past season-plus. The writer also believes the team may have felt more pressure playing under their former coach, and he wouldn’t be shocked to see a more relaxed squad this weekend.
  • If the Panthers could only afford to keep one dynamic defender, David Newton would pick defensive tackle Kawann Short over cornerback Josh Norman. However, the writer is confident that the organization will be able to retain both players.
  • The pair may be naturally connected, but Mike DiRocco believes Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles is already better than 49ers signal-caller (and former Jaguars QB) Blaine Gabbert. The biggest difference for the writer is Bortles’ poise in the pocket.
  • If Brian Xanders was going to be considered as a candidate to be the next Lions general manager, Michael Rothstein writes that the Senior Personnel Executive would have been given the interim role.

NFC Notes: Cowboys, Stafford, Cardinals

November 6th, 2015 at 4:05pm CST by Luke Adams

With the work week winding down, let’s round up some Friday news items and notes from around the NFC….

  • Appearing on 105.3 FM in Dallas this morning, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said that Tony Romo has offered to help identify his own eventual replacement, adding that Romo has put in time studying what he’d look for in a college quarterback. Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has the story, with the quotes from Jones.
  • Examining Matthew Stafford‘s future in Detroit, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press makes the case that the only way it makes sense for the Lions to part with their quarterback after the 2015 season is if they end up with the first – or perhaps second – overall pick, to give a new coach and GM a chance to groom a new QB. A Thursday report suggested that Stafford’s future beyond 2015 with the Lions is uncertain, with GM Martin Mayhew out of the picture and head coach Jim Caldwell a good bet to follow him out the door.
  • In addition to the kickers and punters we heard about yesterday, the Cardinals also worked out several other players, including defensive backs Shaun Prater and Cassius Vaughn and long snappers Brandon Hartson and Andrew East, per Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (Twitter link).
  • The Bears also brought in a few players for tryouts today, auditioning offensive linemen Aaron Adams, James Brewer, and Martin Wallace, according to Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
  • Within his latest NFL.com column, Albert Breer of the NFL Network touches on several topics of notes, exploring the Lions‘ organizational changes, Geep Chryst‘s job status with the 49ers, and the Rams‘ decision to draft Todd Gurley with the 10th overall pick in the spring.

North Notes: Browns, J. Thomas, Lions

November 6th, 2015 at 8:58am CST by Luke Adams

With Josh McCown bothered by a painful rib injury, second-year quarterback Johnny Manziel got the nod for the Browns on Thursday night. The returns weren’t great, with Manziel struggling in the second half, completing less than 50% of his passes as the Browns fell 31-10 to the division-rival Bengals.

Still, there were some positive signs for the former 22nd overall pick, who threw for 128 yards and a touchdown in the first half. Was it enough for the Browns to give him another start? Head coach Mike Pettine wasn’t ready to commit to that following the game, as Pat McManamon of ESPN.com writes.

“When we get in and get back from this time off, we will assess what pool of players are available and go ahead and make those decisions from there,” Pettine said. “This will be a good time to step away and reassess where we are moving forward.”

As the Browns figure out who their starting quarterback will be the next time they take the field, let’s check in on some other items from out of the NFL’s North divisions….

  • All-Pro Browns left tackle Joe Thomas was nearly dealt to the Broncos at the trade deadline on Tuesday, and while he admitted he would have been “really crushed” to leave Cleveland, he added that he’s not upset the team considered moving him. “It doesn’t really bother me that they listened to people that offered things,” Thomas said, per Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal. “It’s kind of like you’re walking down the street and somebody says, ‘Hey, nice watch. You want to sell it?’ You say, ‘Well, it’s not for sale.’ But then you think and go, ‘Well, what will you give me?’ It’s just a matter of what the price is. Obviously, from the sounds of it, it was close but no cigar.”
  • Having watched Dwayne Bowe outperform Taylor Gabriel in Thursday’s game, Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk wonders why the Browns have been playing Gabriel over Bowe for most of the season. In Smith’s view, the fact that Bowe hasn’t seen much playing time after Cleveland gave him $9MM in guaranteed money speaks to a possible disconnect between GM Ray Farmer and head coach Mike Pettine.
  • After seeing GM Martin Mayhew and president Tom Lewand get axed yesterday by the Lions, Detroit players acknowledged that major changes to the roster could be the next shoe to drop. “When new people come in, they obviously feel like the people who were here weren’t getting the job done, so they try to bring in their own guys,” safety Glover Quin said, according to Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press. “Everybody, at least for me, I feel like everybody’s on the chopping block. Everybody’s job is on the line.”

Lions Notes: Stafford, Mayhew, Wolf

November 5th, 2015 at 8:50pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s a fun fact – under former GM Martin Mayhew the Lions drafted 53 players and only one – Ndamukong Suh – became a first-team All-Pro. Furthermore, of that group, Suh and Matthew Stafford are the only players to have made Pro Bowls so far.

Here’s more out of Detroit:

  • It could be hard for the Lions to find a trade partner for Stafford, but given the lack of quality quarterbacks out there, there could be a market, Mike Florio of PFT writes. On Thursday, it was reported that Stafford’s future in Detroit beyond 2015 is in doubt. Stafford, 27, is completing passes at a career-high 64.5% rate, but he has already nearly matched last year’s interception total in just a half-season, and his yards per completion average is the lowest it has been since 2010. While Stafford is under contract through the 2017 season, his deal doesn’t feature any more guaranteed money after this year.
  • With Mayhew out of the picture, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press ran down ten Lions GM candidates to watch. Birkett’s list starts with Packers director of pro personnel Eliot Wolf, who figures to be a hot candidate this offseason. Wolf, 33, is the son of Hall-of-Fame general manager Ron Wolf and knows the NFC North well. Birkett also mentions Ravens assistant GM Eric DeCosta, who is the heir apparent to the GM job in Baltimore and therefore will be hard to pluck away.
  • Walter Cherepinsky of WalterFootball.com gave the Lions an “A” grade for the firing of Mayhew. While his tenure was promising to start, Mayhew made multiple poor draft picks as GM, including Brandon Pettigrew, Jahvid Best, Titus Young, Riley Reiff, Ryan Broyles, and Kyle Van Noy. The Lions were also fleeced in a deal this spring when they acquire Haloti Ngata from Baltimore.

NFC North Notes: Patterson, Bennett, Lions

November 5th, 2015 at 5:16pm CST by Luke Adams

With Stefon Diggs emerging as the Vikings‘ top explosive young receiver, a role that Cordarrelle Patterson had previously been expected to occupy, Patterson tells Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press that he’s not worried about his future in Minnesota.

“I don’t need to worry about my future,” Patterson said. “I’m here. I’m here for a reason. If they wanted to let me go, they would have let me go when the trade [deadline] was here. I’m not worried about anything.”

Although Patterson isn’t sure why he’s barely seen the field this year, he says he just wants “to control what I can control,” and is trying to make the most of his limited snaps. Here’s more from around the NFC North:

  • Bears tight end Martellus Bennett doesn’t sound thrilled by his role in the Bears’ offense, but tells Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times he’s not going to complain about not getting more looks. “That’s a bad employee,” Bennett said. “I just kinda keep my head down and go to work. Because when you say something, you become the a–hole, even if it’s a valid point. So I just avoid drama.”
  • Bears GM Ryan Pace has scouted Cal’s Jared Goff and Michigan State’s Connor Cook in person this season, and will constantly be on the lookout for the type of elite franchise quarterback he had in New Orleans with Drew Brees. Still, as Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune writes, Jay Cutler has shown positive signs under new offensive coordinator Adam Gase, and the guaranteed salary left on his contract suggests he’s likely to be Chicago’s quarterback again in 2016.
  • While Sheldon White is taking over for Martin Mayhew as the Lions‘ general manager on an interim basis, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com identifies five potential candidate for the permanent GM job in Detroit.

Lions Fire Martin Mayhew, Tom Lewand

November 5th, 2015 at 1:11pm CST by Luke Adams

1:11pm: Speaking to the media this afternoon, Martha Ford announced that Sheldon White, the Lions’ director of pro personnel, will act as interim general manager. Allison Maki will be the acting COO, and there will be no changes to the coaching staff at this time, per Ford (link via Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com). The team will soon begin a search for candidates to fill the positions permanently.

11:16am: The Lions’ front office received a major shake-up today, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, who reports (via Twitter) that the organization has parted ways with general manager Martin Mayhew and president Tom Lewand.Martin Mayhew

Just 10 days ago, the Lions made significant changes to their coaching staff, firing offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and a pair of offensive line coaches. Detroit had hoped the changes to the offensive coaching staff would jump-start the team, but reports in the wake of those moves suggested it was possible those wouldn’t be the last ones made by the team this season.

Albert Breer of the NFL Network noted at the time (via Twitter) that there had been “rumblings around the league about larger-scale changes in Detroit,” since Martha Ford is now in charge of the ownership group, and observers weren’t sure what to expect from her. It now appears those rumblings were well-founded, as ownership is making large-scale changes to the organizational structure.

While teams typically wait until the offseason to replace general managers and other decision-makers in the front office, the Lions had been one of the most underachieving teams in the NFL this season, and it appeared to be just a matter of time before the other shoe dropped. Coming off an 11-5 campaign that earned them a playoff berth in 2014, the Lions are off to a league-worst 1-7 start this year, and have been outscored by 96 points in just eight games.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), there’s a “total wipeout” happening in Detroit today, with bosses “going through the building deciding who stays and goes.” So it appears Mayhew and Lewand won’t be the only casualties.

For now, head coach Jim Caldwell still has his job, though he’s hardly a lock to keep it. The Lions may want to identify a new general manager before replacing Caldwell, to give that new GM an opportunity to make the decision on Caldwell’s future, and potentially to hire his own man for the job.

Matt Miller of Bleacher Report tweets that one “hot” name for the Lions’ GM vacancy – at least on an interim basis – is Brian Xanders, who is currently a senior personnel executive for the club. Whoever takes over that role will have several key decisions to make in the coming months, including deciding whether to extend Haloti Ngata, and possibly addressing Matthew Stafford‘s and Calvin Johnson‘s contracts. Stafford has been extremely inconsistent this season and is owed a non-guaranteed $17MM base salary in 2016, while Megatron’s cap number is set to leap to $24MM+.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Matthew Stafford’s Future With Lions In Doubt

November 5th, 2015 at 12:35pm CST by Luke Adams

Amidst a coaching and front office upheaval in Detroit, one key player’s future with the organization appears unsettled as well. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), Matthew Stafford‘s future with the Lions is “very much in doubt” beyond the 2015 season, as Rapoport understands it. GM Martin Mayhew said last week that the idea of the Lions jettisoning Stafford in the offseason was “comical,” but Mayhew is no longer in charge of that decision, having been fired today.

Stafford, 27, is completing passes at a career-high 64.5% rate, but he has already nearly matched last year’s interception total in just a half-season, and his yards per completion average is the lowest it has been since 2010. With the Lions having sputtered to a 1-7 record following last year’s postseason berth, Stafford is among the players who will shoulder the share of the blame for the team’s poor season, particularly if he doesn’t turn things around under new offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter.

While Stafford has shown in the past that he’s capable of posting huge numbers – most notably throwing for more than 5,000 yards and 40 touchdowns in 2011 – the Lions’ new management group may want to make a change at the position, and Stafford would be a valuable trade chip to accumulate draft picks for a retooling process.

While Stafford is under contract through the 2017 season, his deal doesn’t feature any more guaranteed money after this year. If a team were to acquire him in a trade, that club would take on base salaries (and cap hits) of $17MM in 2016 and $16.5MM in 2017. A quarterback with a résumé like Stafford’s, along with a palatable contract that has more than one year left on it, could fetch multiple high draft picks in a deal.

Of course, depending on how the rest of the season plays out, and depending on who takes over for Martin Mayhew as the Lions’ new GM, the team may ultimately decide it makes more sense to hang onto its starting quarterback. This looks like a situation worth monitoring as the offseason approaches, however.

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