Category: Lions News

Former Lions’ QB Dan Orlovsky to be part of ESPN’s ‘NFL Live’ relaunch

Former Detroit Lions’ quarterback Dan Orlovsky is returning to ESPN’s “NFL Live” when it relaunches in August.

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.”

“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.

The Staffords welcome another baby to the family

The Staffords welcome another baby to the family

Matthew Stafford and his wife, Kelly, have welcomed another child to their family. Kelly announced the delivery Friday on her Instagram feed on Sunday morning.

The Staffords now have four children. Baby Stafford joins big sisters Chandler and Sawyer, who are twins, and Hunter. All are under four years old.

The Lions QB was ever-present for the delivery. No word yet on the name of the newest Stafford.

PFF: ‘The Lions are who you should bet on to win the NFC North’

Pro Football Focus has been high on the Detroit Lions all offseason and now that they are looking ahead to the regular season they believe “the Lions are who you should bet on to win the NFC North”.

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Pro Football Focus has been high on the Detroit Lions all offseason and now that they are looking ahead to the regular season they believe “the Lions are who you should bet on to win the NFC North”.

In the latest PFF Forecast podcast episode, the crew was discussing their thoughts on the NFC North division, and at the 29-minute mark, they turned their focus on the Lions.

“Detroit, you know, I know that Matt Patricia has some warts obviously and he’s has a difficult time of it, but look at this team and I think there are less question marks about this team than there are of any team in the division.

“Matthew Stafford’s health is one of them but it was kinda fluky injury, right? He has not been, you know, injured — other than his first couple of years in the league and last season — he hasn’t particularly injury-prone. They have a trio of receivers that I think are as good as any in the NFL. And on defense, they go ahead and they get Jamie Collins, they get Desmond Trufant, they get Danny Shelton, Jayron Kearse a former Viking, Reggie Ragland a former Chief.

“I think that this team has a much better shot of competing for this division than anybody is giving them credit for.”

They would go on to discuss how the Lions win totals are being under projected and spent some time comparing the Lions to the Chicago Bears, including comparing them player for player:

“I laugh at this. Matt Stafford is dramatically better as a quarterback than either of the guys Chicago can trot out there. Kenny Golladay is awesome, Marvin Jones is really good, you have Danny Amendola in the slot. Their defense, yeah I know they got rid of Darius Slay, (but) they brought in (Desmond) Trufant, they drafted (Jeff) Okudah and Julain Okwara is a guy that I think will be a value where they got him — and they added Trey Flowers last year (and) Justin Coleman.”

They would wrap up the segment talking about taking Detroit in several prop bets, including winning over six and a half games, making the playoffs, and winning the division, calling them “one of the more intriguing underdogs this year” and noting that this team has “all the earmarks of a team who can go from worst to first”.

Darrell Bevell shares thoughts on rookie RBs and why they give the Lions a ‘really competitive room’

Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell shares thoughts on the teams’ rookie running backs and why they give them a “really competitive room”.

The Detroit Lions want to establish the running game and have spent much of their offseason resources dedicated to improving in this area.

When offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell talked with the media via video conference call last week, he shared his thoughts on the teams’ rookie running backs and why they give the Lions a “really competitive room”.

The Lions have tried not to get caught up in starter labels this offseason — especially with no Spring camp to help set a depth chart — but naming a starting running back may be a moot point anyway, as the Lions appear determined to deploy a running back by committee in 2020.

Kerryon Johnson, the incumbent starter, saw seven starts in 2019 before injury, Bo Scarbrough got five, while Ty Johnson and Wes Hills each received one, and all of them return to the Lions.

But despite returning four players with starter snaps under their belt, the Lions still drafted De’Andre Swift with the 35th pick in the draft and he has drawn praise and excitement from several teammates and coaches.

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“So, De’Andre Swift — we’re super excited to have him,” Bevell said in the Zoom meeting. “We feel like he is a really talented, well-rounded running back. A guy that you can feel like can handle the run game, but as well as that, he has the ability in the pass game where you can do some things with him there. So, really just a complete guy.

“To be able to add him in there with Kerryon (Johnson), with Bo (Scarbrough), such a good group there and there’s still other guys, Ty (Johnson) is there, (Jason) Huntley’s there. It’s going to be just a really competitive room and that’s what you’re trying to do at each and every position is get the room as competitive as you can and let the cream rise to the top and you’ll end up with a really good team when you’re doing that.”

Swift wasn’t the only running back the Lions selected this past draft, and while Huntley left a big impression on the Lions coaching staff due to his special teams work, he has the potential to be really special on offense.

“The biggest attraction first was his return ability,” Bevell said, “and the things he can do in the special teams game, we were trying to add to that. But then obviously as a runner, he more like a scatback style, same thing (as Jamal Agnew), you’ve got to get the ball in his hands, a dynamic runner with the ball in his hands, so that’s what you’re looking to.”

While general manager Bob Quinn has noted that Huntley “is going to be in competition with Ty Johnson”, the stylistic comparison of Huntley to Agnew by Bevell is something that shouldn’t be glossed over.

Agnew is making a position switch to offense and has been sitting in wide receiver meetings, but there is also no doubting he has the skill set to also directly compete with Huntley and Ty Johnson.

Kerryon Johnson and De’Andre Swift look locked into starter 1A and 1B roles, and Scarbrough should reclaim his role as a sledgehammer, leaving the main question centered around how many more spots can they afford to allocate to the position.

In my Establishing the 53 series of articles, I had the Lions keeping both Huntley and Ty Johnson, as well as Agnew as a receiver/returner because like Bevell said, when it comes to dynamic players: “You want those guys to have the ball in their hands because they can make plays for you.”

Jashon Cornell was one of PFF’s top-graded DTs in the draft class of 2020

Lions 7th-round pick Jashon Cornell was one of PFF’s top-graded DTs in the draft class of 2020

The Detroit Lions just might have found themselves a real value in the seventh round with rookie Jashon Cornell. The defensive lineman from Ohio State earned the 4th-highest grade from Pro Football Focus in 2019 among players who were in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Cornell finished just behind top-10 overall pick Derrick Brown from Auburn in PFF’s grading.

Context behind the grades certainly matters. Cornell didn’t play nearly as many snaps or as high of a percentage of reps as Brown or the others above him. And he did his damage often playing next to No. 2 overall pick Chase Young. But it’s still impressive that Cornell fared so well in PFF’s metrics while transitioning from playing primarily strong-side DE to DT in 2019.

Several former Lions on the ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame

None of the players achieved greatness with the Lions

Several former Detroit Lions players are on the 2020 ballot for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. The nominations include 78 players and seven coaches from Division I and more than 100 from the other divisions of college football up for nomination.

The most notable NFL career belongs to Dwight Freeney, though the elite pass rusher did very little at the end of his long career in a brief 2017 cameo in Detroit.

Of players who achieved their NFL notoriety with the Lions, defensive lineman Jared DeVries is the most noteworthy. DeVries spent a decade in Detroit after being a 3rd-round pick out of Iowa in 1999.

Other ex-Lions joining DeVries and Freeney on the ballot include RB D.J. Dozier, OG Don Greco, RB Ken Simonton and CB Jerry Woods.

The College Football Hall of Fame doesn’t consider NFL success in the voting process. As a disclaimer, I am a voter.

Lions OC Darrell Bevell likes having linemen that ‘like to hurt the opponent’

Lions OC Darrell Bevell likes having linemen that ‘like to hurt the opponent’

Lions offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell evoked a chorus of smiles during his Wednesday Zoom session with local reporters when he brought up the mentality of the new offensive linemen the team added this offseason.

In talking about draft picks Jonah Jackson and Logan Stenberg plus free agent addition Halapoulivaati Vaitai, Bevell praised their toughness and physicality. He did so with an enthusiasm that those of us on the call definitely noted.

“When you look at those guys, with Jonah and with Logan, those guys, I think they bring that mentality,” Bevell said. “It’s a lunch-pail, so to speak, type of group. Guys that they kind of like to hurt. They like to hurt the opponent as well.”

Stenberg comes to the Lions noted for his violent approach to line play. At Kentucky, he was the most-penalized player in the SEC and earned the rep as the conference’s dirtiest player. He’ll be prominent in the mix at right guard as a fourth-round rookie.

“It’s really a mentality. All you’ve got to do is turn Logan’s tape on and you can see that in him. And Jonah as well.”

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It’s all a concerted effort to be more physical and imposing at the line of scrimmage and in the run game. Detroit’s rushing offense perked up in 2019 but still has room for major improvement, and Bevell sees being nastier as the path to success.

Golden Tate offers Jamal Agnew to ‘come see me’ after position switch

Former Detroit Lions wide receiver Golden Tate offers for Jamal Agnew to “come see me” after position switch to offense.

One of the rumors that had been floating around the Detroit Lions all offseason was Jamal Agnew’s switch from defensive back to wide receiver and on Wednesday offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell confirmed the transition.

Now that it is official and the public has been informed, the Lions’ senior writer Tim Twentyman was finally able to write about it and their social media accounts were able to promote it.

Not long after Twentyman’s article was promoted by the Lions Twitter handle, former Lions wide receiver Golden Tate responded to that tweet by offering to help Agnew make the transition:

Tate and Agnew played together in Detroit for a year and a half — before Tate was traded to the Eagles in 2018 — and stylistically Agnew could fill a similar role to Tate as a slot/gadget weapon.

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At the time of this posting, Agnew had yet to respond publically, but for a player on the bubble looking to make a difficult transition, it is probably in his best interest to get on the phone as soon as possible.

Lions DC Cory Undlin on Jeff Okudah: ‘driven like few men I’ve been around’

Lions defensive coordinator Cory Undlin on rookie CB Jeff Okudah: ‘driven like few men I’ve been around’

New Lions defensive coordinator Cory Undlin got a gleam in his eye during Wednesday’s Zoom session with reporters when he was asked about prized rookie CB, Jeff Okudah. There was no hiding his infatuation with the No. 3 overall pick.

“With this Zoom thing, I’ve spent a lot of time with Jeff and I think the people in Detroit and Lions fans are going to really, really like him, not only as a player, but as a person,” Undlin gushed.

He continued to praise his young cornerback, noting his driven personality and work ethic.

“Jeff is driven like few men I’ve been around in this profession and I know that and I can tell that albeit a Zoom call. The guy is nonstop. To the point where it’s like, ‘Jeff, can we talk about something, like can we not talk about football for like five minutes? Can we talk about something else? Do you do anything else?’ That’s how he’s wired.”

Darrell Bevell confirms Jamal Agnew is now a WR for the Lions

Agnew has played CB while also serving as the team’s primary return specialist for the last three seasons

In his Zoom teleconference with reporters on Wednesday, Lions offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell effectively confirmed that Jamal Agnew has moved from cornerback to wide receiver. It’s a move that has been widely speculated, and it actually began last season.

“I think you saw a little bit of that right at the end of last year, right, where we kind of brought him over and gave him a few opportunities on the offensive side of the ball. We really like his skill set,” Bevell said of the 25-year-old Agnew.

Agnew caught three passes and took four carries in limited action on offense over the final nine games of 2019.

At a listed 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds, both of which seem quite generous in person, Agnew likely fits in the slot as a receiver. Similar to J.D. McKissic in 2019, Agnew has the ability to make things happen on jet sweeps and bubble screens. Like former Lion Theo Riddick, he can also potentially work out of the backfield as a motion receiver and matchup dictator.

“Right now we’re going to kind of lean that way,” Bevell said of Agnew’s move to receiver “Kind of let it go where it goes. I think he has a chance to help us.”

In all likelihood, it’s a moot point. Agnew will make the Lions, or not, based exclusively on his ability to return punts and kickoffs. The transition to full-time offense does get rid of the practice reps he took from other CBs. Agnew presents even more competition for filling the role that McKissic and Riddick filled in recent seasons, and he could also threaten Marvin Hall for the undersized vertical threat.