HEADLINES

Justin Coleman

Lions Activate Justin Coleman, Waive Bo Scarbrough

October 31st, 2020 at 3:25pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Lions may have their full assortment of cornerbacks for the first time this season. They activated slot corner Justin Coleman from IR on Saturday, ending his five-game absence. Detroit made room for Coleman by waiving running back Bo Scarbrough.

A big-ticket free agent in 2019, Coleman went down with a hamstring injury during Detroit’s season-opening loss to Chicago. He will be back for the Lions’ Week 8 tilt against the Colts. This marks the second season of Coleman’s four-year, $36MM deal.

Detroit has been without Coleman, Desmond Trufant and No. 3 overall pick Jeff Okudah at various points this season. Trufant missed the past two games with a hamstring injury, but the ex-Falcon cover man participated in two limited practices this week. Okudah battled a hamstring injury earlier this year as well and missed Week 1. The Lions rank 14th in pass defense DVOA, creating a somewhat promising outlook for their coverage capabilities with Coleman, Trufant and Okudah playing together.

Scarbrough returned from IR earlier this month but does not factor into Detroit’s backfield like he did down the stretch last year. Despite being a midseason pickup, the Alabama alum started five games for the Lions. With Adrian Peterson, D’Andre Swift and a healthy Kerryon Johnson in the picture now, the Lions do not have as much use for Scarbrough.

Lions Place Justin Coleman On IR

September 15th, 2020 at 8:35am CST by Zachary Links

The Lions are placing Justin Coleman on injured reserve, as Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. Coleman strained his hamstring on Sunday against the Bears, and he’ll miss at least three weeks of action. 

Hamstring injuries have dogged the Lions in recent weeks. They were already without wide receiver Kenny Golladay and cornerback Jeff Okudah heading into Week 1. Then, in the season opener, Coleman and fellow cornerback Desmond Trufant exited early with hammy issues. Okudah can step up for Coleman if he’s able to go for Week 2 against the Packers, but they’ll be extra thin if Trufant needs the week off. Beyond that, they’ve got Darryl Roberts and Tony McRae on the depth chart.

The Lions may look to sign former Chargers and Texans defensive back Jaylen Watkins after auditioning him this week. If Watkins isn’t a fit, they’ll likely need to find secondary support elsewhere. The Packers topped the Vikings 43-34 in their opener and the offensive line gave Aaron Rodgers tremendous pocket support throughout the game to move the offense down the field. The Lions can’t bank on consistent pressure next week, so they’ll need top-tier play from their banged-up CB group.

Lions Place Matthew Stafford, Kenny Golladay On Reserve/COVID-19 List

August 4th, 2020 at 4:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

TODAY: Good news for the Lions. Stafford has been removed from the COVID-19 list and has been placed back on the active roster, per a team statement. Apparently, the third test that he was required to take before entering team facilities resulted in what turned out to be a false positive, but his next three tests were all negative. Neither Stafford nor any members of his household have (or had) COVID-19.

AUGUST 1: The Lions placed Matthew Stafford on their reserve/COVID-19 list Saturday. He joins Kenny Golladay, T.J. Hockenson and Justin Coleman on Detroit’s list.

Placement on this list does not mean these players tested positive for the coronavirus. The list also includes players who are quarantining because they came in contact with someone who has tested positive. Stafford will join Golladay, Hockenson and Coleman in being away from the bulk of Lions teammates for the time being.

Thus far, Stafford is the NFL’s highest-profile player to land on the COVID list. He is, however, believed to be asymptomatic at this time, per NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter).

Cornerback Amani Oruwariye, punter Arryn Siposs, safety Jalen Elliott and tight end Isaac Nauta are also on Detroit’s reserve/COVID list. Among the Lions’ group, as of Saturday, it is known Coleman tested positive, though NFL.com reported the veteran slot corner is asymptomatic.

If Stafford tested positive, he will be required to miss at least five days. This waiting period is only for asymptomatic players. Players who test positive and have symptoms for the virus must miss at least 10 days. That number is fluid; it depends on symptoms players experience. Players who land in either category must test negative twice before rejoining the team.

In this altered training camp format, practices do not begin until Aug. 12. Full practices do not start until Aug. 17, so the Lions have a bit of time for their group of starters to return. Teams begin their strength and conditioning-based acclimation periods Monday. Of course, this all depends on the players’ issues with the virus.

Contract Details: Amos, Patterson, Carpenter, Brown

March 13th, 2019 at 11:50am CST by Zachary Links

Let’s take a look at the details of a few freshly-signed contracts:

Lions To Sign Justin Coleman

March 11th, 2019 at 1:50pm CST by Zachary Links

The Lions are closing in on a deal with former Seahawks cornerback Justin Coleman, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. The contract will make Coleman the NFL’s highest-paid nickel corner. It’s a four-year, $36MM deal, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter).

After spending two seasons in New England, Coleman was traded to Seattle in the 2017 offseason for a seventh-round pick in 2018. Mainly serving as a nickel back with the Seahawks, Coleman proved to be a brilliant add. Coleman hasn’t missed a game for the Seahawks in the past two seasons and has emerged as a quality stopper at an increasingly important position.

You may recall that Tavon Young, way back when in late February, became the league’s highest-paid nickel corner when the Ravens re-upped him on a three-year, $25.8MM extension. That mantle now belongs to Coleman, a player who had the benefit of shopping the open market.

Free agency does not formally begin until Wednesday, but Coleman reached his deal with Detroit on Monday, the first day of the so-called “legal tampering” period. Later this week, the contract will be made official.

Seahawks CB Justin Coleman Signs RFA Tender

March 28th, 2018 at 6:24pm CST by Micah Powell

Seahawks cornerback Justin Coleman has signed his second-round restricted free agent tender, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (Twitter link). 

Coleman was one of 14 NFL restricted free agents to be tendered at the second-round level, and he’s the third — following Falcons guard Ben Garland and Jaguars running back Corey Grant — to officially sign his tender. There was no rush for Coleman to ink his tender, as RFAs have until April 20 to work out offer sheets with other clubs. However, it was unlikely that any NFL team would have been willing to sacrifice a second-round pick in order to land Coleman.

After spending two seasons in New England, Coleman was traded to Seattle in the 2017 offseason for a seventh-round pick in 2018. Mainly serving as a nickel back with the Seahawks, Coleman impressed when he was on the field, recording two interceptions and returning both of them for touchdowns.

Coleman is expected to slot back as the nickel in 2018, despite the release of veterans Richard Sherman and DeShawn Shead earlier in free agency.

Seahawks Place Second-Round Tender On Justin Coleman

March 12th, 2018 at 9:49pm CST by Ben Levine

The Seahawks have placed a second-round tender on restricted free agent cornerback Justin Coleman, reports NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter). The tender value is expected to be around $2.914MM.

Following a pair of seasons with the Patriots, Coleman was acquired by the Seahawks last September in exchange for a seventh-round pick. The former undrafted free agent ended up setting career-highs across the board in 2017, as he finished the campaign with 42 tackles, two interceptions, and two touchdowns in 16 games (five starts). Pro Football Focus was fond of Coleman’s performance last season, ranking him 37th among 120 eligible cornerback candidates.

After parting ways with Richard Sherman, the Seahawks may be counting on Coleman to play an even larger role in 2018. The team is currently rostering four other cornerbacks in Neiko Thorpe, Shaquill Griffin, DeAndre Elliott, and Alex Carter.

Patriots Trade CB Justin Coleman To Seahawks

September 1st, 2017 at 1:27pm CST by Zachary Links

The Patriots have sent cornerback Justin Coleman back to the Seahawks, according to ESPN’s Field Yates (on Twitter). The Patriots will get a 2018 seventh-rounder from the Seahawks, which originally belonged to the Eagles, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets. For the Pats, this means that they recoup a seventh-rounder after trading one away for linebacker Marquis Flowers in late August.

Coleman, 23, has seen action in 20 games and racked up three starts in his two-year career. The Patriots first plucked him off of the Seahawks’ taxi squad in 2015. This offseason, he re-upped with the Pats via the exclusive rights tender. He apparently wasn’t going to make the 53-man cut on Saturday, so the Patriots have parlayed him into a future draft choice. Seattle, meanwhile, won’t have to worry about the waiver process or competing clubs in free agency in order to make the reunion happen.

As DeAndre Elliott deals with an injury, Coleman could help provide support at the nickel spot.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/16/17

March 16th, 2017 at 6:55pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The latest minor moves from around the NFL:

  • The Chiefs have signed safety Marqueston Huff, according to Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star (Twitter link). Since going in the fourth round of the 2014 draft, Huff has appeared in 41 games in stints with the Titans and Ravens, though he has only picked up one start. Huff played in 11 contests with Baltimore last year and failed to register a tackle in 32 defensive snaps. He did see plenty of special teams action, however (223 snaps).
  • The Redskins have added linebacker Chris Carter, a six-year veteran who is joining his sixth team. Carter has totaled four starts, the latest of which came in 2013, and 62 appearances. The special teamer combined for 14 appearances last season between the Colts and Ravens.
  • Patriots cornerback Justin Coleman has signed his exclusive rights tender, tweets ESPN’s Field Yates. Coleman, 23, has seen action in 20 games and racked up three starts in his two-year career.

RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/7/17

March 7th, 2017 at 7:04pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Unrestricted free agent news will obviously dominate the day, but several clubs also had to make decisions on whether to offer tenders to restricted and exclusive rights free agents. All RFA tenders listed are original round/right of first refusal (worth $1.797MM), and all links go to Twitter:

RFAs:

Tendered:

Non-Tendered:

ERFAs:

Tendered:

Non-Tendered: