Jerry Jacobs ramps up the recruiting pitch for the Lions to trade for Jalen Ramsey

Lions CB Jerry Jacobs tweeted out a couple of recruiting pitches supporting the idea of the Lions trading for Jalen Ramsey

The Jalen Ramsey-to-Detroit speculation train keeps adding more freight. The latest addition comes from starting cornerback Jerry Jacobs, who hitched his wagon to the hype train in trying to manifest into reality the purely speculative linkage between the Rams’ Pro Bowl cornerback and the Lions.

The Rams may or may not be interested in trading Ramsey, who has a substantial salary cap hit in 2023 and no guaranteed salary on the final two seasons (2024-2025) of his five-year, $100 million contract. Ramsey, 28, has made the last six Pro Bowls and earned All-Pro status in three of those seasons.

He’s a very attractive trade candidate if the Rams are indeed interested in moving on from Ramsey. Thus far, there is no indication from the Lions that there is any interest in any such move, but that hasn’t stopped the idea from dominating the Detroit discourse lately.

It also hasn’t dissuaded Jacobs, who played well in a starting role in each of the last two seasons, notably in 2022 once he got healthy after tearing his ACL in late 2021.

Jacobs kicked off his recruitment on Sunday morning with a tweet directly tagging Ramsey.

He followed that up with a fun-natured explanation that’s very much in line with Jacobs’ personality,

At this point, nobody knows if anything may come of all the talk about Ramey and Detroit. It’s nice to see the Lions players having some fun with it and Ramsey playing along good-naturedly too.

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Duce Staley talks about leaving the Lions for the Panthers

Assistant head coach Duce Staley talks about leaving the Lions for the Panthers in a lateral move

For the first time since he made a lateral career move, Duce Staley addressed the media. The new assistant head coach and RB coach of the Carolina Panthers explained why he left those same roles with the Detroit Lions last month.

Staley was with the Lions for both of Dan Campbell’s seasons as head coach in Detroit. He opted to join new head coach Frank Reich’s staff in Carolina, a move that raised some eyebrows both in Detroit and around the league.

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During his introductory press conference in Charlotte this week, Staley shed more light on why the made the move.

“It feels good to be back close to home,” Staley said on Thursday. “Just growing up as a kid being in South Carolina during the time (of) ’95, ‘96 the Panthers got going there. As a kid you always dream about if you’re playing in the NFL; you want to play close to home. So the Panthers were definitely one of those teams that I thought about hopefully drafting me. Didn’t happen, but here I am now.”

Staley did confirm that moving back to the Carolinas and being closer to his mother, who is battling health issues, was a factor. So was reuniting with Reich, who he coached under in Philadelphia for two years.

“Being able to spend those years in Philadelphia with Frank Reich and win a Super Bowl, just to see him go out there and affect young men the way he did was awesome,” Staley stated. “I said to myself, I would love to have the opportunity to coach with him again.”

The Lions replaced Staley with Scottie Montgomery.

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Jamaal Williams will provide coverage of the NFL scouting combine

Lions RB Jamaal Williams will provide coverage of the NFL scouting combine with former Packers teammate Aaron Jones

Missing some of Lions RB Jamaal Williams and his effervescent personality right now? You’re in for some welcome news.

Williams will team up with former Packers RB mate Aaron Jones to provide commentary on next week’s NFL scouting combine. William and Jones will reunite for the supplemental coverage on the NFL’s subscription-based app, NFL+. The duo will be part of the “Players Only Combine” analysis, along with a handful of other active players.

Williams and Jones were drafted together by the Packers in 2017 and remain close friends despite Williams playing in Detroit the last two seasons. They both have fun-loving attitudes and different perspectives than what are normally heard on the combine coverage.

Workouts begin on Thursday, March 2nd and run through Sunday, March 5th. Williams and Jones will provide analysis on the running back workout on Sunday.

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Red Wings legend Darren McCarty loves what he’s seeing from the Lions ownership

In an interview with the Huge Show, McCarty compared Sheila Hamp to longtime Red Wings and Tigers owner Mike Ilitch

Darren McCarty was an integral piece of the rise of the Detroit Red Wings from perennial also-ran to multi-time Stanley Cup champions. His grit, leadership and underappreciated skills made McCarty an everlasting fan favorite in Detroit.

McCarty, now an analyst with Woodward Sports, sees the Lions growing in the same path his Red Wings of the 1990s followed to great success. I got a chance to interview McCarty for the Huge Show, along with co-host Eric Zane, and McCarty excitedly spent several minutes gushing about the Lions and their potential to win.

“I see it. I see them building that way,” McCarty said of Dan Campbell’s Lions.

McCarty was quick to credit owner Sheila Hamp for engineering and facilitating the turnaround.

After noting how the team has reached out to work with mending the fences with Hall of Fame wideout Calvin Johnson, McCarty offered up this assessment,

“That’s from the top, from Sheila (Hamp).”

McCarty continued training the ownership,

“I think it’s finally changed … the atmosphere is different.”

He then paid a great compliment to Hamp, one that should resonate with Red Wings fans.

“She sounds like Mr. Ilitch,” referring to the longtime owner of the Wings and Tigers who was known for doing whatever it took to help his teams win. “Things have changed and we don’t just hear it — we see it.”

The full interview with McCarty can be found here for your listening pleasure.

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Aaron Glenn and the Lions agree to a contract extension

Aaron Glenn and the Lions agree to a contract extension that will keep the defensive coordinator in Detroit for “multiple years”

Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn will remain in that role for a while longer. Per numerous reports, the Lions and Glenn have agreed to a contract extension for the veteran DC.

According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, the deal is not yet finalized but will represent an extension for “multiple years” for Glenn remaining in Detroit.

Glenn was a serious candidate for head coaching vacancies this offseason, getting multiple interviews with both the Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers. He has been in charge of the Lions defense for the last two seasons under head coach Dan Campbell. The two worked together with the New Orleans Saints prior to coming to Detroit.

Glenn’s defense started poorly in 2022, ranking dead last in both points and yards allowed for the first seven games of the season. But some tweaks by Glenn, healthy returns from several key players and a more aggressive style of play led to a marked improvement. Over the final 10 games, a stretch in which the Lions went 8-2, the defense ranked in the upper half of the league.

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The Lions have released DL Michael Brockers

Brockers was a healthy scratch in most of 2022

The two-year run for Michael Brockers with the Detroit Lions has come to an end. As was widely expected, the Lions released Brockers on Thursday. The news was first reported by the Detroit Free Press.

Brockers played sparingly in 2022 as the only Lions player over 30 years old. He was a healthy scratch in 10 of the last 11 weeks. He finished the season with four tackles and one pass defended in six games.

The release ends Brockers’ three-year, $24 million contract with the Lions. It saves the team $10 million in cap space for 2023 while adding $3.9 million in dead cap room thanks to a restructuring in September.

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Amon-Ra St. Brown and Penei Sewell make PFF’s Top 101 players for 2022

LIons standouts Amon-Ra St. Brown and Penei Sewell make PFF’s Top 101 players for 2022

The analysts at Pro Football Focus have gone through all the tape and created their list of the top 101 players of the 2022 NFL season. Two Detroit Lions made the cut and appear inside the top 80.

Right tackle Penei Sewell shows up at No. 77. PFF notes that the criteria include the postseason, for which Detroit did not play, and only includes performance from 2022.

Detroit’s offense was cooking for much of the year, and Sewell was a big part of that success at right tackle. He allowed 28 total pressures over 17 games and was one of the better run blockers in the league. He even caught a game-clinching pass against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 14.

St. Brown cracks the list much higher up. The wideout is No. 28, making him the sixth WR to appear after Tyreek Hill, Justin Jefferson, Davante Adams, A.J. Brown and Stefon Diggs.

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Calvin Johnson ‘excited to be around’ the Lions again, ready to do more with the team

Johnson praised the Lions organization for working with him in an appearance on the Jim Rome Show

The long-running frostiness between Lions legend Calvin Johnson and the team appears to be thawing quickly. In an appearance on the Jim Rome Show this week, Johnson couldn’t help but get excited about the direction of Dan Campbell’s team. “Megatron” also praised the Lions for improving the relationship between the two parties, who have been at odds over bonus monies that Johnson was asked to return following his surprise retirement after the 2015 season.

Rome asked Johnson where things stood between him and the Lions organization.

“I think we’re having some good conversations,” Johnson said. “Mike Disner (Lions COO) over there with the Lions, he’s back in town. I feel like he’s going to put an effort to — bring the two of us together.”

Johnson continued,
“So I’m excited about that. I’m excited about him actually reaching out and putting an effort forward to try and make that happen.”

The Hall of Fame wide receiver noted that he’s got a lot of experience to offer the young team and that, “I’m excited just to be around the team again.”

More from Johnson on the Jim Rome Show:

Jalen Ramsey responds to Amon-Ra St. Brown’s pitch to get him on the Lions

Ramsey showed love to St. Brown and Jared Goff but refused to talk about his own future

Sometimes the NFL turns into a weird place. It’s certainly heading in that direction with Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey and his offseason “where will he be?” saga.

Ramsey may or may not (read: almost certainly not) be available this offseason as the Rams face some serious salary cap drama. Lions wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown has reached out publicly to Ramsey, a six-time Pro Bowler, to court him to come to Detroit if he’s made available.

Ramsey has now responded to the courtship.

“Much love to Jared Goff and Amon-Ra St. Brown,” Ramsey tweeted. “(I) tried my hardest to get y’all in them playoffs this year. I won’t comment on my future tho (sic). We shall see.”

Ramsey is referring to the Week 18 matchup with the Seattle Seahawks, where the Lions would have made the postseason if the Rams had won. Alas, Seattle prevailed.

As for Ramsey’s future? Like he said, we shall see…

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Cowboys star Micah Parsons takes a cheap shot at Detroit

Cowboys EDGE Micah Parsons took an unprompted cheap shot at the city of Detroit

Once upon an NFL draft season, Detroit Lions fans coveted Micah Parsons. After what Parsons, selected instead by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2021 draft,  said about the city late Monday night, those warm feelings figure to be a lot frostier.

It stems from the ongoing courtship of Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey by current Lions wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown, among others. St. Brown has publicly reached out to Ramsey and encouraged him to come to Detroit if he gets the chance, whether via trade or release from the Rams.

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Parsons couldn’t resist chiming in on the speculative talk. In the process, the Cowboys All-Pro took a cheap shot at the city of Detroit.

“I’m sorry no one going from LA to Detroit,” Parsons tweeted over the rumors.

Safe to say Parsons won’t be on many Christmas card lists from Michigan anytime soon.

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