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Detroit Lions News & Rumors

NFC Notes: Foles, Pettigrew, Young, Gerhart

March 1st, 2014 at 8:57am CST by Matt Feminis

Eagles quarterback Nick Foles is the team’s unquestioned No. 1 entering 2014, but the team has yet to publicly declare its belief in the third-year passer as the team’s long-term solution, points out Philly.com’s Jeff McLane. Some believe the team still has doubts and is leaving itself some wiggle room, acknowledging the possibility (likelihood?) Foles regresses this season. There is a business element at play, too. Because Foles’ rookie contract cannot be renegotiated until after 2014, it’s prudent for the club to hold off on making any long-term declarations.

  • In light of recent transactions, Eagles GM Howie Roseman demonstrated he paid attention to the successful and unsuccessful aspects of the Joe Banner/Andy Reid era, says Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Mike Sielski, who believes the previous regime undervalued the importance of veteran leadership. “[Roseman] recommitted the Eagles to rewarding homegrown talents such as Kelce and Cooper, and he’s acknowledged that certain older players are special cases.”
  • With Jimmy Graham franchise tagged and Dennis Pitta re-signed, the Lions‘ Brandon Pettigrew is potentially the most attractive free agent tight end, says ESPN.com’s Michael Rothstein.
  • Meanwhile, the Lions have another free agent worth prioritizing, according to mlive.com’s Kyle Meinke, who says defensive end Willie Young‘s pending free agency “has hardly been discussed.” Plagued by inconsistency in the past, Young took a step forward in 2013, collecting 47 tackles and three sacks and ranking 16th in the league amongst 4-3 defensive ends, according to Pro Football Focus.
  • It is expected that Vikings backup running back Toby Gerhart will leave in free agency, according to ESPN.com’s Ben Goessling.

Louis Delmas Visits With Dolphins

February 28th, 2014 at 6:24pm CST by Rob DiRe

Louis Delmas met with the Dolphins today, reports Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (via Twitter). Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun writes that the team would still like to re-sign safety Chris Clemons, but if they are unable to do so, Delmas could be a strong second option.

Delmas has already been linked to quite a few teams this offseason, already visiting the Steelers and Saints. The Broncos, Falcons, and Ravens are also thought of as potentially interested in the former Lion.

Wilson does write that the Lions would be interested in re-signing Delmas on a smaller contract.

NFC Rumors: Raiola, Vikings, Beason, Hardy

February 27th, 2014 at 8:23pm CST by Zachary Links

Dominic Raiola has been the Lions‘ center since the days when they wore leather helmets, but eventually he’ll be moving on from football. He wants to play for another two seasons, but Detroit would like to start grooming someone to take over for Raiola once he retires, writes Dave Bickett of the Detroit Free Press. It’s not a top priority, but if they get a chance in the middle of the draft, don’t be surprised if you see the Lions go for a center. Here’s more out of the NFC..

  • Simoni Lawrence turned down three clubs to sign with the Vikings, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN.
  • Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (on Twitter) expects it to take a deal paying $3-4MM annually for the Giants to sign linebacker Jon Beason to a new deal.
  • The Panthers met recently with Drew Rosenhaus, defensive end Greg Hardy‘s agent, and the two sides have had ongoing negotiations, two league sources tell Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer. After totaling 26 sacks over the past two seasons, Hardy is looking for a deal that will be commensurate with his performance.
  • Beyond Beason, Carolina will be looking to re-sign wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. and free safety Michael Mitchell, both of whom played on one-year deals last season, Person notes. Backup quarterback Derek Anderson and No. 2 tight end Ben Hartsock are viewed as priorities as well, but will likely have to take one-year contracts. The Panthers are expected to let free agent receiver Brandon LaFell and cornerback Captain Munnerlyn test the market, but could ultimately re-sign them to shorter, team-friendly deals.

Lions Re-Sign Don Muhlbach

February 27th, 2014 at 12:17pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lions have re-signed long snapper Don Muhlbach to a one-year contract, according to Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com (via Twitter). It’s a minimum salary contract that includes a $65K signing bonus, tweets Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. That means Muhlbach will earn $1.02MM, though his cap hit will only be $635K.

Muhlbach, 32, has been with the Lions since the team signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2004, playing nearly every game for the team since 2005 and even earning a Pro Bowl berth as a special teams player a year ago. According to Twentyman, special teams coordinator John Bonamego refers to the veteran long snapper as a “calming influence” on young players like punter Sam Martin.

NFC Notes: Wharton, Panthers, Lions, Saints

February 27th, 2014 at 10:47am CST by Luke Adams

The Panthers have already lost one starting lineman to retirement this week, when longtime left tackle Jordan Gross called it a career. Now, left guard Travelle Wharton tells Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer that he’s not 100% sure about his future either. However, it sounds like if he keeps playing, the free agent lineman wants to do so in Carolina.

“I love it here in Charlotte. This is where we want to live,” Wharton said. “If there’s going to be a next year, we have to sit down and talk about it.”

Here’s more on the Panthers and a couple other NFC teams:

  • Steve Smith‘s age (35 in May) and contract ($9MM in dead money, three years remaining) make him a tricky case for the Panthers, as Jason Fitzgerald explores in his latest piece at OverTheCap.com. Fitzgerald thinks it makes sense for the two sides to continue their relationship, but makes some suggestions for how to make the veteran receiver’s contract more tenable for the club.
  • When the Lions inked Matthew Stafford to his long-term contract extension last summer, the team agreed to defer the payment of $17.5MM of his $27.5MM signing bonus. That bill has come due, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, who says the team will pay Stafford the remainder of the bonus this Friday. Glover Quin, Reggie Bush, and Jason Jones will also receive deferred bonus money within the next few weeks, but the lump-sum payments won’t alter the team’s cap outlook.
  • Running back Mikel Leshoure expressed a desire for a bigger role, either in Detroit or elsewhere, and it looks like he may receive that opportunity with the Lions, writes Kyle Meinke of MLive.com.
  • Add linebacker and special teams player Ramon Humber to the growing list of pending Saints free agents who have had early discussions with the club about a new deal, writes Ramon Antonio Vargas of The Advocate.

Lions Notes: Draft, Clemons, Fullback

February 25th, 2014 at 8:51am CST by Luke Adams

The Lions would be comfortable heading into the 2014 season with LaAdrian Waddle and Corey Hilliard as their right tackles, according to GM Martin Mayhew, who says both players played “really good football” for the team last season. However, while Detroit likely won’t pursue an upgrade in free agency, the club could be open to adding a tackle early in the draft if the opportunity arises, writes Kyle Meinke of MLive.com. I still expect the Lions to address their secondary or add a receiver with that No. 10 pick, but they certainly could go in any number of directions. Here’s more out of Detroit:

  • Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press looks at a few potential targets for the Lions in free agency and the draft, noting that free agent safety Chris Clemons could be an option for the team’s secondary. Birkett also acknowledges that the club could draft a tackle with the tenth overall pick, but currently has Detroit grabbing Texas A&M wide receiver Mike Evans — according to Birkett, several scouts he has spoken to in Indianapolis don’t believe the gap between Evans and top receiver Sammy Watkins is as big as it’s perceived to be.
  • Under their previous coaching staff, the Lions eliminated traditional free safety and strong safety designations for defensive backs, opting for players capable of playing both roles. Under Jim Caldwell though, Detroit will once again differentiate between the two positions, which could affect which players the team pursues this offseason. Justin Rogers of MLive.com has the details.
  • With Caldwell taking the reins, the team also could reintroduce a fullback to the offense, writes Birkett in a separate Free Press piece. We could see the Lions add a run-blocking fullback in free agency to compete with Montell Owens for the final spot in the backfield.
  • Over at MLive.com, Meinke has a full list of prospects the Lions interviewed at this weekend’s combine.

Extra Points: Titans, Roos, Harbaugh, Browns

February 24th, 2014 at 5:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Although the Titans are currently prioritizing this year’s pending free agents and potential cap casualties, the team shouldn’t forget about players like left tackle Michael Roos and defensive tackle Jurrell Casey, whose contracts are up after the 2014 season, writes Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean. In Wyatt’s view, Tennessee can afford to wait to see how Casey fits in a changing defense, but the team would be wise to try to lock up Roos to an extension as soon as possible.

Here are a few more miscellaneous Monday links from around the NFL:

  • Former Octagon agents Doug Hendrickson and C.J. LaBoy have joined Relativity Sports, according to Liz Mullen of Sports Business Journal (via Twitter). Mullen adds in a second tweet that the duo will work with and report to Relativity’s football CEO, Eugene Parker.
  • If Jim Harbaugh doesn’t receive a contract extension this offseason and the 49ers don’t win the Super Bowl next season, expect the Dolphins to be among the teams pursing the head coach next year, tweets Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports.
  • Before he was removed from his role as CEO of the team, Joe Banner had the Browns‘ offensive and defensive coordinators reporting directly to him, reports Pat Kirwan of CBSSports.com. As agent Mike McCartney observes (via Twitter), if Kirwan’s report is accurate, it’s not hard to understand why head coaching candidates would’ve been reluctant to accept the Cleveland job.
  • Pittsburgh defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who had a stellar performance at the combine, met with nine teams, according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link): The Cowboys, Ravens, Bears, Bengals, Vikings, Texans, Lions, Buccaneers, and Rams.
  • The Packers, Patriots, and Seahawks met with Rutgers receiver Brandon Coleman, who also had an informal meeting with the Redskins, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.

Lions Will Seek Veteran Quarterback

February 24th, 2014 at 3:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lions won’t be in the market for a starting quarterback this offseason, with Matthew Stafford firmly entrenched as the number one in option in Detroit. But the team will be keeping an eye out in free agency for a veteran option to back up Stafford, according to GM Martin Mayhew (link via Justin Rogers of MLive.com).

“We’ll get into the free agency market and see what it looks like and see if there’s a veteran out there that’s right for us, that we feel comfortable with,” Mayhew said.

One free agent who will attract some interest from the team is Shaun Hill, who has been Stafford’s backup in Detroit for the last several seasons. However, it sounds as if he’ll just be one of the options the Lions consider, rather than necessarily heading into free agency as the club’s first choice. Former Boise State signal-caller Kellen Moore also remains under contract with the team for one more year, though Mayhew doesn’t love the idea of heading into 2014 with Moore as the primary backup.

While this year’s top free agent quarterbacks such as Michael Vick, Matt Cassel, and Chad Henne will likely be seeking opportunities to start, there are plenty of other intriguing options on the market. Josh McCown, Josh Freeman, Matt Flynn, Tarvaris Jackson, and Kellen Clemens are among the notable No. 2 QBs expected to be available next month.

NFC North Links: Bears, Lions, Packers

February 24th, 2014 at 11:07am CST by Luke Adams

As the combine rolls along in Indianapolis, let’s round up a few recent stories related to NFC North teams….

  • Given the success head coach Marc Trestman had with Josh McCown in 2013 and comments made by GM Phil Emery before last year’s draft, the Bears should draft a quarterback in 2014, even with Jay Cutler locked up, says Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times.
  • Safety figures to be a position of need for the Bears, which could prompt the club to draft a prospect like Louisville’s Calvin Pryor or Alabama’s Ha Ha Clinton-Dix with the No. 14 pick, writes Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
  • Of course, the Lions will draft a few spots ahead of the Bears, at No. 10, and could also be eyeing those top two safeties, as Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press details.
  • While he acknowledges that safety is probably a more pressing need for the Lions, Josh Katzenstein of MLive.com suggests that it may be hard for the team to pass on a potential shutdown cornerback like Michigan State’s Darqueze Dennard or Oklahoma State’s Justin Gilbert with the tenth overall pick.
  • The Packers opted to go with a relatively unproven center in Evan Dietrich-Smith last season and it worked out well for the club. So Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wonders, in his look at Green Bay’s offensive line, whether the team is willing to take a similar approach this year and anoint J.C. Tretter as 2014’s starting center.

NFC Notes: Clowney, Lions, Vikings, Niners

February 23rd, 2014 at 1:44pm CST by Dallas Robinson

South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney would like to be a member of the Falcons — but only if they trade up to get him, writes ESPN.com’s Vaughn McClure. The star Gamecock is widely expected to be selected in the top five picks of the draft, and he realizes this would make it challenge for him to get to Atlanta. “…I hope I don’t fall to No. 6,” said Clowney, hoping for a Falcons draft position swap. “I like Atlanta – a lot. They’re pretty good. They’ve got some guys from South Carolina on the team, also. And it’s close to home.” The Falcons are in dire need of pass rush help, and we learned Friday that they are not averse to attempting to move higher in the draft.

Some other notes from around the NFC:

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