Category: Lions News

Lions sign LB Trevor Nowaske from the practice squad

Nowaske is an undrafted rookie from Saginaw Valley State who played well in the preseason, especially on special teams.

Even on a week where no players are in the building, the Detroit Lions are amking roster moves. On Thursday of the bye week, the Lions signed linebacker Trevor Nowaske from the practice squad.

Nowaske is an undrafted rookie from Saginaw Valley State. He signed with the Lions right after the draft and has played extensively on both defense and special teams in the preseason. He’s a Detroit-area native.

To make room for Nowaske, the Lions waived running back Devine Ozigbo. He had been in Nowaske’s shoes, signed from the practice squad to the active roster prior to Week 8.

Watch: Barry Sanders movie trailer asks the question we all want the answer to

Watch: The Barry Sanders movie trailer lays out the question of why he retired in his prime at age 31

Prime Sports Video released the trailer for the upcoming documentary film about Lions legend Barry Sanders.

“We’ll never see something like Barry Sanders again,” the trailer begins, and then we’re instantly reminded of just how true that statement is.

“Bye Bye Barry” will tell the intriguing story of Sanders’ incredible career as a Detroit Lions running back and icon, in the words of those who played with him and against him, and those who covered him in his prime.

It will also feature Sanders himself discussing what everyone wants to really know: Why did he walk away at 31?

From the press release:

Twenty-four years after the shocking decision to walk away from the sport, NFL Films joined the 55-year-old Sanders and his four sons on a trip back to England to explore his career, revisit his upbringing, and tackle one of the greatest mysteries in sports history: Why did he retire when he did?

The movie debuts on Nov. 21 on Prime Video.

Where the Lions rank in PFF season grades at the bye week

Where the Detroit Lions rank in PFF metric season grades at the bye week

Week 9 marks the bye week for the Detroit Lions. It’s also the halfway point (kind of) for the season for the 6-2 Lions. It make for a good time to check in on where Dan Campbell’s Lions rank in all the various team categories at Pro Football Focus.

PFF isn’t gospel, but it’s a very useful tool to compare how teams are faring relative to other teams in things like run blocking, tackling, receiving and special teams. Overall, Detroit is looking pretty darn good across the board.

Lions sign long snapper Jake McQuaide to the practice squad

McQuaide was with the Lions through training camp

Faced with an injury to their starters, the Lions went out and found a familiar face as the new long snapper.

Jake McQuaide is back in Detroit, signing with the Lions practice squad on Wednesday. McQuaide spent the offseason and training camp with the Lions before being cut during the preseason. He’s been in the NFL since 2011, with most of that time playing for the Los Angeles Rams before spending two years with the Dallas Cowboys.

McQuaide was needed because starting long snapper Scott Daly is out for the year with an injury suffered in Monday night’s win over the Raiders. Daly has yet to be placed on injured reserve during the first days of the Lions’ bye week.

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Best and worst PFF Grades from Lions Week 8 win against Raiders

Another week, another dominant performance for Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions. In primetime in front of a national crowd, too.

Another week, another dominant performance for Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions. In primetime in front of a national crowd, the Lions started out slow but caught fire at the end of the first half and used that to take full control in the second half.

With a dominant win comes some significant PFF scores.

The offense had plenty to be happy about, especially between the skill players. On defense, the front seven shined with someone even securing their highest grade of the season against the Raiders.

Lions lose long snapper to injury vs. Raiders

Not often is an injury to a long snapper significant but in the case of of Scott Daly his absence will be felt

Not often is an injury to a long snapper significant, but in the case of Scott Daly his absence will be felt.

Late in the win against the Raiders on Monday night, Daly was injured on a field goal attempt. Daly suffered a knee injury and was able to limp off the field upon further examination it was shown that he will be out for some time.

Dan Campbell told the Detroit News that if they needed a replacement in the game, they didn’t having not attempted another kick, that Aidan Hutchinson and Alex Anzalone would have served in the role. The team is entering a bye week so they have time to find a replacement but it seems practice squad member Jake McQuaide is going to be it.

The former two-time Pro Bowl long snapper entered the NFL in 2011 and quickly earned a reliable role on the St. Louis Rams roster. McQuaide played his college football at Ohio State so he should be familiar with Big Ten fans.

The Lions as mentioned are on a bye in week nine and will return against the Chargers on November 12.

Brad Holmes on big-name trade ideas for the Lions: ‘It’s not reality’

Holmes added, “there’s nothing that we leave unturned or ignored or anything,” and discussed why the team added WR Donovan Peoples-Jones

The NFL trade deadline passed on a Halloween afternoon without a lot of activity in Detroit. Lions GM Brad Holmes held a press conference to discuss the state of the team and his thoughts and experience at the deadline.

Holmes made it clear that a lot of the names that fans and some media fantasized about where just that: fantasy.

“A lot of these names that you might see pop up, they look good in the media, and they are names, but that’s often – it’s not reality,” Holmes said. “Those same names that you see pop up, when you start getting into conversation, it just doesn’t work out for the best for us.

So, every team has a different plight, every team is in different place, different direction, different phase in their team building, but no, there’s nothing that we leave unturned or ignored or anything. We look at every position, we look at everything and this was the best one for us.”

Other teams did make some moves around the league. The Washington Commanders dealt away former first-round pass rushers Montez Sweat (to the Bears) and Chase Young (to the 49ers). Seattle picked up Giants DT Leonard Williams, while the Vikings dealt for one-time Lions third-string QB Joshua Dobbs from Arizona.

Holmes then explained the rationale behind the move the Lions did make, acquiring wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones from the Cleveland Browns for a 2025 sixth-round pick.

“Well, I mean obviously we – Marvin (Jones Jr.) had to step away, so we were down a receiver period, so we had to look to add another one regardless,” Holmes explained. “There’s a lot of different avenues that you can take, so this is the one that we chose.”

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Lions trade for Browns WR Donovan Peoples-Jones

The Lions dealt a 2025 draft pick to Cleveland to bring the Detroit native home

It’s been a pretty quiet run up to the NFL trade deadline for the Detroit Lions, but the team did make an acquisition ahead of Tuesday’s 4 p.m. deadline. The Lions have agreed to a trade with the Cleveland Browns for wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones.

The Lions are sending a sixth-round pick in 2025 to Cleveland for Peoples-Jones. The wideout is a Detroit native and played collegiately at Michigan. He was a sixth-round pick by Cleveland in the 2020 NFL draft.

Dan Campbell gets emotional during sit-down interview on ESPN

Lions head coach Dan Campbell gets emotional during sit-down interview on ESPN

Prior to the Detroit Lions clash with the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday Night Football, there was plenty of attention towards what the Lions are building in Detroit. Much of that is credited to general manager Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell.

During the pregame coverage for Monday Night Football, there was an interview with Dan Campbell on ESPN. Campbell sat down with Michelle Beisner and they talked about Campbell’s journey so far as the head coach of the Detroit Lions.

For starters, Beisner mentions how “Lions fans have been starved for a long time and he’s giving them a big ol’ plate to eat from.” She then asked what happens when he goes around the town and he sees the fans. Campbell responded with “when I go to the convenience store and they tell me great job, go get em’ this week or hey coach, go bite some knee caps.”

Meanwhile, the interview goes from talking about the fans to the players he had during his first season as the coach of the team. As Campbell talked about how he would “never forget those guys” from the first year, he started to get emotional.

Tears filled his eyes and he followed up about how “he appreciates guys that lay it on the line. Maybe you’re outnumbered or maybe you’re not as talented, maybe the odds are against you and maybe nobody believes in you. I respect the hell out of those guys that will fight. That’s what we’re about. That’s what we’re about man. That’s how we roll here.”

You can see the entire interview below:

https://x.com/espn/status/1719141572048994792?s=20

NFL power rankings: Update after Week 8

It’s time to update the Lions Wire NFL power poll. Where do the 6-2 Lions rank?

Two months have come and gone off the NFL calendar. Between the impending flip to November and the Lions’ bye week hitting at a much-needed time, it’s a good opportunity to update the Lions Wire NFL power poll.

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Quite a bit has happened at both the top and the bottom of the poll in recent weeks. Three weeks ago I’d have put San Francisco as No. 1 or No. 2, but now it’s a struggle to place them in the top 10.

As for the 6-2 Lions? You’ll have to scroll down a good way before you find them in the rankings from 32 to 1…