"The Lions are scheduled to begin their off-season program April 16, about a month later than organized team workouts would have resumed under the old collective bargaining agreement.

It's only a month, but ...

"That's a long time," guard Rob Sims said. "They can hurt you in a month."

Under the new CBA, off-season programs have been scaled back five weeks, and organized team activities have been reduced from 14 to 10.

Teams are now allowed to have nine consecutive weeks of off-season workouts, with the first two weeks limited to strength and conditioning and the final four weeks designated for OTAs and a three-day mandatory veteran minicamp."