Former Detroit Lions’ quarterback Dan Orlovsky is returning to ESPN’s “NFL Live” when it relaunches in August.
Originally drafted by the Lions in the fifth round of the 2005 NFL Draft, he left the team following the 2008 season, before rejoining the team in 2014 where he backed up Matthew Stafford for the next three seasons.
In October of 2017, Orlovsky retired from the NFL. Soon after, Orlovsky began breaking down videos on Twitter, explaining the nuances of NFL offenses and by 2018 he was hired by ESPN as an analyst.
Orlovsky began at ESPN in a variety of roles, eventually landing a permanent spot as a color commentator for college games on ESPN and ABC — a position he will continue to hold — as well as spots on several NFL themed platforms, including “NFL Live”.
On Tuesday, ESPN released the following statement:
“ESPN will relaunch NFL Live, the year-round weekday NFL news and information show, in August with new host Laura Rutledge and a consistent roster of daily analysts that features Marcus Spears, Dan Orlovsky, Keyshawn Johnson and Mina Kimes, who moves into a new NFL analyst role.”
ESPN will debut a new NFL Live in August.
Congrats to host @LauraRutledge, @mspears96 @danorlovsky7 @keyshawn and @minakimes, who is now officially an ESPN NFL analyst. https://t.co/KbNjvs5fPz pic.twitter.com/uTT4Jzj4RR
— bill hofheimer (@bhofheimer_espn) June 30, 2020
“The kickoff of the 2020 NFL season presents an exciting opportunity to reimagine NFL Live with a new commentator team that brings a wealth of football intelligence and a built in chemistry,” said Seth Markman, ESPN vice president, production. “Laura, Marcus, Dan, Mina and Keyshawn have all excelled in their respective roles across ESPN platforms – and have already worked closely together. The daily conversations they will have about the NFL is something we hope fans will really learn from and enjoy.”
On behalf of Lions Wire, we offer our congratulations to Orlovsky and look forward to continuing to see him on television.