Lions Rumors & News

Pro Football Talk "With Detroit among the possibilities for an MLS expansion team in 2020, the Lions are looking at ways they can make Ford Field work for soccer. And that includes the possibility of retrofitting their stadium with a retractable roof. Lions team president Rod Wood said during..." July 17

Pro Football Rumors "None of this year’s franchise tagged players agreed to extensions with their respective teams before Monday’s deadline. That means Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell, Lions defensive end Ziggy Ansah, Cowboys defensive end Demarcus Lawrence, and Rams safety Lamarcus Joyner will..." July 16

Total Pro Sports "ohn Schnatter clearly has a wish to end everything he has worded for up to this point, and it’s taken just under a year for him to completely destroy his image. The Papa Johns founder is already at rock bottom, but he decided to dig an even bigger hole on Friday during a recent..." July 15

The Score "NFLPA vice president of business and legal affairs Casey Schwab stated that legalized sports betting could have immense ramifications concerning player privacy. The U.S. Supreme Court voted 7-2 in May that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act is unconstitutional,..." July 15

Detroit News "What’s in a name? Plenty if you’re an NFL player. ESPN asked writers around the league to pick the best nickname on each team. For the Detroit Lions it was “Swagnew,” the nickname belonging to cornerback and return specialist Jamal..." July 14

NFL Trade Rumors "Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Lions DE Ziggy Ansah and Cowboys DE Demarcus Lawrence are both expected to play out the 2018 season under the franchise tag, barring a significant turn in contract negotiations with their respective teams. The deadline to..." July 14

Clutch Points "On Friday afternoon, veteran running back DeMarco Murray announced his retirement from the NFL at age 30. The three-time Pro Bowler and 2014 Offensive Player of the Year spent four seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, one with the Philadelphia Eagles, and the last two with the Tennessee Titans to..." July 14

Yardbarker "After drafting Kerryon Johnson in the second round and signing LeGarrette Blount in free agency, the Lions suddenly have a crowded running backs room. In addition to Johnson and Blount, the team also has Ameer Abdullah, Theo Riddick, Dwayne Washington and Zach Zenner on the..." July 14

Pro Football Talk "Bruce Maher, who had a 10-year career with the Lions and Giants in the 1960s, has died at the age of 80. Maher was born and raised in Detroit, attended the University of Detroit, and then began playing safety for the Lions in 1960. “Nobody in the league plays with more..." July 12

Pro Football Talk "Darryl Rogers, whose long coaching career included four seasons as head coach of the Lions, has died at the age of 83. Rogers had spent many seasons as a college head coach but had never been in the NFL in any capacity when the Lions decided to take a chance on him in 1985. Although..." July 12

Pro Football Rumors "The players’ union is filing a grievance against the NFL’s new anthem policy, the NFLPA announced on Tuesday. The union argues that the new policy violates the rights of players.  “Our union filed its non-injury grievance today on behalf of all players..." July 10

Detroit Free Press "The Detroit Lions and defensive end Ziggy Ansah face a July 16 deadline for a new contract. If they can’t sign a new deal, Ansah will play this season under the $17.143 million franchise tender he signed in April. Here are three reasons why the Lions..." July 10

Bleacher Report "Free-agent tight end Brandon Pettigrew has been charged with "two counts of aggravated assault, theft of services and public drunkenness" after an incident in Pittsburgh Monday, according to Shelly Bradbury of the Pittsburgh..." July 09

Pro Football Talk "Just before Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri lined up for a game-tying extra point on a snowy day last season in Buffalo, the Colts sent some sideline personnel onto the field to attempt to remove snow from the area where the kick would be lined up, and help Vinatieri get better footing...." July 06

Bleacher Report "There's never been a player who quietly inspired more love, and potentially more hate, among NFL wide receivers than the Patriots' Julian Edelman. For years, there have been two differing opinions about Edelman. Some believed he was special—a..." July 06

New York Post "President Donald Trump is not done with the NFL yet, saying the league’s new national anthem policy is “worse” than the original one. During a campaign rally in Great Falls, Mont., Trump took aim at the NFL’s new policy again, which was passed in May and..." July 06

Houston Chronicle "NFL teams are preparing for training camp and the 2018 season. There are coaches who seem to be on the proverbial hot seat. Three divisions – AFC South, NFC North and NFC West – don't have coaches who have trouble sitting as they enter crucial seasons. It'll be..." July 06

Pro Football Talk "It’s the annual NBA free-agency frenzy, featuring B-level players getting more money than A-list NFL stars. Among other things, the money handed out to basketball players renews calls for fully-guaranteed NFL contracts. This year, Chargers left tackle and NFLPA executive..." July 04

Pro Football Talk "When training camps open around the league next month, the NFL wants teams to be mindful of the spike in preseason concussions last year. The NFL found that preseason concussions were up 73 percent from 2016 and that most of them occurred in 11-on-11 drills conducted in practices..." June 29

Michigan Live "The Lions are just more than a month away from the start of the first training camp of the Matt Patricia era. The roster mostly is what it will be this season, short of when it shrinks to 53 men by the start of the year. It'll be up to the new coaching staff to get the most out of..." June 24

Detroit Lions "Wide receiver TJ Jones is coming off the finest season of his young career. The former sixth-round pick out of Notre Dame caught 30 passes for 399 yards (13.3 average) and a touchdown in 14 games. In his previous two seasons, Jones, who’s been primarily used as a depth player,..." June 23

NFL Trade Rumors "According to Ian Rapoport, the Detroit Lions hired veteran executive Jimmy Raye III as their new Senior Personnel Executive late last week. Rapoport says that Raye III will work directly with Lions GM Bob Quinn. The Panthers interviewed Raye III..." June 19

Detroit News "Detroit Lions wide receiver Marvin Jones is a man of many talents. When he’s not hauling in deep passes from quarterback Matthew Stafford, you might find Jones in the recording studio in his basement, laying down some soulful R&B tracks with a voice that landed him a shot at..." June 17

Detroit Free Press "The phrase has become so synonymous with the New England Patriots that it was the title of the NFL Films documentary on Bill Belichick and the 2014 Super Bowl champs. Now it appears as if the Detroit Lions have co-opted the slogan, “Do Your Job.” Several Lions players and..." June 15

Pro Football Talk "The NFL’s new rules designed to reduce the impacts on kickoffs represent a last-gasp effort to keep the play in the sport. That’s the word from former head of officiating Mike Pereira, who believes that if this year’s rule changes don’t result in the desired..." June 15

Detroit Free Press "The Detroit Lions are expanding their open training camp practices under first-year coach Matt Patricia, and will make all three of their joint workouts with the New York Giants open to the public. The Lions begin training camp July 27 and will hold 12 open practices this..." June 14

Detroit Free Press "For four years, Devon Kennard watched the New England Patriots defense from afar, studying it trying to figure out what made it so great. “I could never really understand what they were doing,” Kennard, the Detroit Lions’ biggest free-agent addition of..." June 14

The Score "It appears the NFLPA is preparing for a legal battle with the NFL over its new anthem policy. The NFLPA has hired multiple law firms to begin researching potential avenues to fight the league's policy, a source told Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio. Florio..." June 14

Michigan Live "For years, the Lions had a prototype for the back who would stand next to Matthew Stafford in the shotgun or pistol, but the old guard is changing. An inefficiency in results will do that over time. The Stafford offense has often operated with a scat back who could operate..." June 14

CBS Sports "Over the last few seasons, the run-pass option (RPO) has become increasingly popular in the NFL. The way it allows an offense to react to how the defense lines up and then reacts off the snap of the ball makes it easy to avoid negative plays that flow right into what the defense is doing, and..." June 11

Detroit News "The Detroit Lions showcased their skills on a different type of field Saturday and it was all for a good cause. A little over two miles away from the team’s practice facility, over 20 players traded in their helmets and cleats for bats and gloves at the Lions’ annual..." June 10

Detroit Free Press "One of the best punters in the NFL had a miserable 2017. But now that he's healthy, Sam Martin appears poised for a bounce-back year. "I definitely take this time of year not for granted at all," Martin said Thursday after the Detroit Lions wrapped up their three-day..." June 09

USA Today "Matt Patricia is in danger of losing his players. This was my main observation from three days of minicamp this week. The Detroit Lions rookie coach wants things done his way. And his way means running as punishment. Lots and lots of running. That’s not..." June 08

WEEI Boston "Donald Trump discussed his plan for presidential pardons on Friday and made an offer to NFL players to suggest to him people he should pardon. "What I'm thinking to do, you have a lot of people in the NFL in particular ... they're not proud enough to stand for..." June 08

Pro Football Rumors "The Lions fear rookie that rookie fullback Nick Bawden suffered a torn ACL in practice on Wednesday, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter) said. Right now, it looks like the seventh-round pick’s season is over and it is expected that he will be placed on injured reserve in..." June 06

Detroit Free Press "Detroit Lions defensive end Ziggy Ansah made his first comments of the offseason Tuesday during the start of the team’s mandatory three-day minicamp. But he didn’t say much. Ansah also didn’t do much. He barely took part in individual drills early in..." June 06

Detroit Free Press "Calvin Johnson was a ball of nerves in the weeks before he played his final NFL game, not because he was retiring — he had to be talked into playing the 2015 season by his father — but he said Saturday he spent his final few weeks as a Lion worried about how he was going to tell..." June 03

Michigan Live "In his first four seasons with the Lions, Sam Martin posted the four best net punting seasons in Lions history. In 2016, he had the second-best season in NFL history. In 2017, he finished outside the top 30 in the league. "It was very,..." June 02

Pro Football Rumors "The biggest names in this year’s free agent class such as Kirk Cousins, Sammy Watkins, Allen Robinson, and Trumaine Johnson have long been spoken for, but plenty of notable players remain on the board here in June. With a hat tip to James Palmer of NFL.com..." June 01

Detroit Free Press "First, Golden Tate.  Next, LeBron James? Reigning Verizon IndyCar Series champion Josef Newgarden renewed a high school rivalry on Wednesday in Detroit: He bested his old pal Golden Tate, a standout receiver for the Detroit Lions, in a table tennis battle for the..." May 31

Michigan Live "This is Matt Patricia's defense, of course, and his fingerprints are going to be all over it. But part of becoming a head coach, perhaps the most important thing about becoming a head coach, is learning how to delegate. You can't do everything, you can't be everywhere, and you..." May 31

12 Up "NFL owners may not all be in lock-step over issues surrounding player protests during the National Anthem, but it's clear that the American president has been a driving force in the conflict-- and has influenced at least a few owners' positions on the matter. Former..." May 30

Detroit News "At no point in his NFL career is a player expected to improve more than from year one to two. The learning process for a rookie is a whirlwind of information that can be overwhelming for many to process. By year two, there’s a comfort level. A player is able to absorb and apply..." May 28

Michigan Live "The first few moments of Matt Patricia's first open practice with the Lions featured some new tests of will. On one end of the field, running backs lined up with the ball behind three bags made to simulate offensive linemen. When the back would approach the..." May 27

Detroit Free Press "LeGarrette Blount wasn’t paying too much attention to the NFL draft last month when the Detroit Lions spent most of their six picks on help for the running game. Blount, the leading rusher in February’s Super Bowl and one of the Lions’ top free-agent signings this..." May 26

Michigan Live "Golden Tate would like a new deal with the Detroit Lions. But more than halfway through the offseason, he still has no idea whether he'll get one. "I don't know what to expect," the YAC king said Thursday after wrapping up the first round of OTAs in Allen..." May 25

Pro Football Talk "NFL Players Association Executive Director DeMaurice Smith says the league’s owners are less interested in showing respect for America than in showing they can control their employees with the new rule requiring players who are on the field for the national anthem to..." May 25

Fort Worth Star-Telegram "The troubles of Lions head coach Matt Patricia might not be over. When Patricia visited South Padre Island in Texas a little more than 22 years ago, he was indicted by a grand jury on one count of aggravated sexual assault. At the time, he was a 21-year-old football player..." May 25

USA Today "While decades-old legal claims have sullied the starts of two first-time NFL head coaches in recent years, several owners said this week they’re not sure what more the league can do to help teams avoid controversy like what the Detroit Lions faced with Matt Patricia — and one even..." May 24

Pro Football Talk "Question: When is a unanimous vote not unanimous? Answer: When there’s no vote at all. No, this isn’t a Matrix-style exercise in whether or not there is a spoon. (Then again maybe it is.) It’s an example of the kind of casual white-lying that has..." May 24