Category: Lions News

Jonathan Williams: What the Lions are getting in their new RB

Scouting breakdown of new Lions RB Jonathan Williams, signed Monday

The Lions made an interesting signing on Monday morning. Just before the team took to the practice field for the first time in training camp, the Lions signed RB Jonathan Williams and dumped fellow RB Wes Hills.

Williams adds talent to a crowded backfield that now includes returning starter Kerryon Johnson, second-round rookie D’Andre Swift, speedy second-year back Ty Johnson, rookie Jason Huntley and big Bo Scarbrough, who played well down the stretch in 2019.

What are the Lions getting in Williams?

The primary thing with Williams is his health. Since being a fifth-round pick from Arkansas by the Buffalo Bills in the 2016 NFL Draft, Williams has only been healthy enough to be active for 23 NFL games. And that doesn’t include the fact he missed his senior season at Arkansas with a broken foot, either.

The 5-11, 217-pound Williams played nine games for the Indianapolis Colts in 2019, carrying the ball 49 times for a career-high 235 yards. Almost all that action came in a two-week period. In Weeks 11 and 12 last year, Williams topped 100 yards rushing in both games while filling in for various other injured Colts backs.

In those two games, Williams flashed the combination of power and balance that made him highly-touted before the final injury at Arkansas. He’s a physical, downhill-style runner with active shoulders and hands. Williams can jump-cut and burst out of a cut well.

This run against the Texans is pretty emblematic of Williams’ style: not always great with the vision or acceleration, but he’s tough and never stops the feet from moving,

As an inside runner, he’s quicker and faster to bounce out than Scarbrough. Staying aggressive in pressing the initial hole has been an issue for Williams going back to his college days; he’s impatient and will make unnecessary bounce cuts to the outside behind the line. Ball security was a big issue for the Bills, who let him go after two fumbles in just 27 carries in his rookie campaign.

He does have some receiving ability and reliable hands out of the backfield. Williams did get special teams work in Buffalo and again last season with the Colts, an important facet for reserve RBs in Detroit.

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Lions worked out 3 players including 2 tight ends on Saturday

Former Jaguars TE Ben Koyack highlights 3 players who auditioned on Saturday

The Detroit Lions continued to search for potential roster additions on Saturday. The team held workout auditions for three players, including two tight ends.

Former Notre Dame standout Ben Koyack is the most notable name. A seventh-round pick by the Jaguars in 2016, Koyack has 25 receptions in 44 career NFL games, all with Jacksonville.

The other two players who tried out are TE Hunter Thedford and DT Josh Avery. Thedford is an undrafted rookie from Utah who also played collegiately at SMU. Avery is also an undrafted rookie who was previously with the Seattle Seahawks. He played in college for Southeast Missouri State.

Lions work out QB Trevor Siemian and several WRs

Chris Hogan is the most accomplished of the receivers

Now that the team is finally allowed to conduct workouts with free agents, the Detroit Lions are taking full advantage. On Friday the team welcomed former Broncos starting QB Trevor Siemian to Allen Park, as well as four wide receivers for him to work out with as an audition.

Siemian worked out with WRs Shelton Gibson, Keon Hatcher, Chris Hogan and Krishawn Hogan. None of the players were immediately signed.

Siemian was Denver’s primary starting QB in 2016-2017, leading the Broncos to a 13-11 record as a starter while completing 59.3 percent of his passes. He threw 30 touchdowns against 24 interceptions. He has played in just one game since, a start for the New York Jets in 2019 where his leg was broken in the first quarter.

Chris Hogan is the most notable of the wideouts. He’s a longtime New England Patriot with a very consistent production line. From 2014-2018, he caught between 34 and 41 passes every season (2014 was with the Bills). The 32-year-old spent 2019 in Carolina.

The other wideouts have combined for seven career NFL catches.

 

Matthew and Kelly Stafford donate $350,000 to social justice program at Georgia

Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford and his wife Kelly are donating $350,000 to the University of Georgia for a social justice initiative.

Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford and his wife Kelly are donating $350,000 to the University of Georgia for a new social justice initiative.

The Stafford’s are joined by current Georgia football coach Kirby Smart and his wife Mary Beth, who are donating $150,000, giving the university a total of a half-million dollars to start up the program.

“The University of Georgia Athletic Association has launched an ambitious program that seeks to implement strategic initiatives in the areas of diversity, inclusion, equity and social justice,” Georgia University Director of Athletics Greg McGarity announced on Friday.

“The generosity of Matthew and Coach Smart allows the Athletic Association to implement strategic initiatives in diversity, inclusion, equity, and social justice,” McGarity continued.  “These gifts will help the Athletic Association educate, implement dynamic programming, and execute service opportunities to achieve our goals, those being to foster critical consciousness, cultural competence and further developing change within the Athletic Association and our greater community.”

This is another in a long line of altruistic gifts the Stafford’s have made during his 11 plus years in Detroit. The Stafford’s have made a routine of surprising families with visits and gift at Christmas time, donating to the Acoustic Neuroma Association after Kelly’s surgery for her brain tumor, $1 million towards a local community center, and in March they donated $100,000 to Detroit communities to fight the COVID-19 crisis.

Lions top 1,000 straight negative COVID-19 tests

Lions top 1,000 straight negative COVID-19 tests and haven’t had a positive test in nearly two weeks

The Detroit Lions have now gone 13 straight days without having a single player, coach or staff member test positive for COVID-19 as of Thursday. That’s nearly two weeks of fully negative testing at the team’s facility in Allen Park just as the Lions prepare for full-contact practices at the start of next week.

Given all the players and testing protocols, that means that over 1,000 negative tests have come since the last time anyone on the Lions tested positive. That figure includes the false positive for QB Matthew Stafford.

Even though the Lions are not in a mandatory bubble, the team members are doing their part to stay isolated from possible infectious situations. The safety measures the team implemented at the training facility, from overhauling the locker room to redesigning the layout — with a price tag running in the millions — are indeed working.

The Lions still have one player, undrafted rookie Jalen Elliott, on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Seven other players have cleared the list, which includes both positive tests and those exposed to infected persons.

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Matthew Stafford’s house for sale ‘has nothing to do with’ the Lions

The house is still for sale for over $6 million

Matthew and Kelly Stafford have an awesome house. It’s got pieces of the actual basketball court the Pistons used when they played in the Silverdome, for goodness sake.

So when the family put up the five-bedroom, seven-bathroom lakeside mansion in Bloomfield Hills for sale earlier this year, it certainly raised eyebrows.

Does this mean Stafford wants out of Detroit?

Why would they leave such a palace?

Is it time for the Lions to look for a new quarterback?

Though he has addressed it before, Stafford himself once again shot down any speculation about his motives behind listing the house, which remains on the market for over $6 million.

“It has nothing to do with my tenure here or how long I’ve been here, how long I want to be here,” Stafford said in a Zoom teleconference with the media this week. “I don’t know how many times I got to tell you guys I want to be here as long as I can. But it has nothing to do with that, I promise.”

Stafford even went so far as to jokingly suggest if anyone on the Zoom call was interested,

“Are you looking to make an offer?”

The Stafford’s have four young girls all under four years old. Kelly Stafford has said via her Instagram page that there are concerns over living lakeside with such young children, among other “family reasons” both she and Matthew have left private for now.

Duron Harmon is working hard so his teammates to know they can count on him

During a recent video conference, Lions new safety Duron Harmon explained what he is doing to be a player his teammates can count on.

The Detroit Lions secondary went through a significant overhaul this offseason, yet they appear stronger and deeper as a whole than what was on the field in 2019.

Among the new additions, Duron Harmon — whom the Lions traded with the Patriots for last March — could have the biggest impact in 2020 due to his leadership and scheme knowledge. Harmon played for seven seasons on the Patriots defense and he is expected to be able to smoothly translate into coach Matt Patricia’s scheme.

During a recent video conference with the media, Harmon mentioned that this is a defense that he is very familiar with, but also acknowledged that it has evolved a bit since Patricia left New England.

“So obviously there are some new things I’ll have to learn”, Harmon said. “I’m working as hard as I can to make sure I learn those things. To make sure that when I go out there, people can count on me. To know that I’m always going to know what I’m doing and that I’m going to do my job at a high level.”

While the MIKE linebacker typically gets a lot of the glory as they distribute the defensive play call, the single-high safety spot in Patricia’s scheme acts as the quarterback of the defense, making pre-snap adjustments and re-aligning players in coverage.

Harmon is expected to start at the Lions’ single-high safety spot this year.

One of the reasons the Lions secondary has struggled in the past two seasons is the revolving door at single-high. Glover Quin never seemed comfortable in the role — it’s much different than the free safety spot he played the majority of his career — Quandre Diggs was better suited for the slot than in center field, Tavon Wilson was more successful as a box safety, as was Will Harris, and while Tracy Walker can survive playing deep, he is an absolute weapon as a JOKER.

By being able to deploy an experienced single-high safety in Harmon, the Lions not only shore up the position but it also affords them the opportunity to use Walker more in the JOKER role and Harris as the third safety in the box.

Experience, intelligence, leadership. Harmon is exactly what the Lions need in the secondary.

Tavon Wilson shows his love for Detroit on his way out

Wilson is expected to sign as a free agent with the Indianapolis Colts

Longtime Detroit Lions safety Tavon Wilson is expected to sign a contract with the Indianapolis Colts as a free agent. The four-year starter for the Lions bid his old city a fond adieu on social media.

Wilson made his visit with the Colts over the weekend and reports from Indianapolis indicate he will sign with the team, which was short at safety after COVID-19 opt-outs.

The hybrid safety/linebacker was second on the Lions with 98 total tackles last year, surpassed only by fellow safety Tracy Walker. He came to the Lions in 2016 as one of Bob Quinn’s first free agent signings.

Wilson showed class and appreciation for the Lions organization and the city of Detroit on his Twitter feed on Monday:

The Lions traded for Duron Harmon this offseason to fill the spot left by Wilson’s free agency.

Thanks for the four strong years in Detroit, Tavon!

Cory Undlin’s press conference highlights his defensive mind meld with Matt Patricia

Undlin talked about the clear communication from Patricia and trumpeted the value of versatility

New Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Cory Undlin took to the virtual podium on Saturday morning for a Zoom teleconference with local reporters. Undlin’s answer on one specific question gives a good indication of why Matt Patricia hired him to help run his defense.

Undlin was asked about the philosophy of the Lions defense and his working relationship with Patricia, a defensive-oriented head coach. Undlin sees nothing but clear communication and common goals.

“I think it’s safe to say that we both feel good with where we’re heading. We’re not there yet, but we’re going in the right direction. It’s been very positive,” Undlin stated.

The new DC, who worked under ex-Lions head coach Jim Schwartz in Philadelphia most recently, elaborated upon the point,

“There hasn’t been any questions on where that’s going from him to me. It’s been very clear and him asking me and we’re on the same page.”

He then talked about the versatility of the linebacking corps, something Patricia has consciously strived to attain.

“It’s a great bonus to have all those guys, the entire group … to have that great versatility, that’s what we’re based on in this defense. The more guys you have that have already played in it and understand that. Even with some of the new guys we brought in, it’s a bonus.”

That’s a pretty clear indication from Undlin that this is still Patricia’s defensive base scheme but also that having all those versatile players will give him more freedom to adapt his own wrinkles into it.

 

Lions release 6 players including Chris Lacy, Travis Fulgham

Releasing them now gives those vets a chance to try and land elsewhere

Six Detroit Lions veterans woke up to the U2 song “Sunday Bloody Sunday”. The team announced it has cut all six players after less than a full week in the building for training camp.

The most notable here is Travis Fulgham. His agent announced his release on Saturday and the team confirmed they are dumping the 2019 sixth-round wideout.

WR Travis Fulgham
G Josh Garnett
DB Michael Jackson
WR Chris Lacy
LB Christian Sam
DE Jonathan Wynn

Lacy’s name is the biggest surprise here. With the reports of Fulgham being released on Saturday, some speculated Lacy might be the biggest beneficiary.

There is a theme here with all these players. All have at least some NFL experience and all were unlikely to earn more than the final roster spot in Detroit in 2020. Releasing them now gives those vets a chance to try and land elsewhere. With no preseason games to audition for other teams, a straight early release like this is their best chance to latch on and show something in another training camp.