Tag: Desmond Trufant

Free Agency: Grading the Bears’ signing of CB Desmond Trufant

The Bears put a bandaid on the cornerback position with the signing of Desmond Trufant to a one-year deal to replace Kyle Fuller.

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The Chicago Bears have a gaping hole at cornerback following the release of two-time Pro Bowler Kyle Fuller in order to free up $11 million in salary cap space. The Bears are attempting to fill that void with veteran Desmond Trufant, who signed a one-year, prove-it deal with Chicago.

A former first-round selection by the Atlanta Falcons in 2013, Trufant had an impressive rookie season with the Falcons, where he recorded career highs with 70 tackles and 17 pass breakups. He spent his first seven seasons in Atlanta before signing with the Detroit Lions last season.

Trufant has started all 103 games he’s played in over the course of eight seasons, where he’s totaled 349 tackles, 14 interceptions, 83 pass breakups, 10 tackles-for-loss, six sacks, three forced fumbles and seven fumble recoveries. He was a Pro Bowl selection in 2015 after recording 42 tackles, one interception and 11 pass breakups.

Last season with the Lions, Trufant played in just six games as he dealt with a hamstring injury. He totaled 20 tackles, one interception and four pass breakups.

There’s no doubt that Trufant is a downgrade from Fuller, whose loss will be a big one in this secondary — due to his play and leadership. But Trufant has shown a knack for making plays in the past.

The only problem is, Trufant’s play has been declining since 2019, coupled with injury struggles, which prompted the Falcons to release him after seven years. He’s certainly not a reliable replacement for Fuller, and it makes the need for cornerback heading into the draft even more important.

While Trufant has impressed in the past, it’s hard to imagine him overcoming some of the injury struggles that have limited him to return to the high level he played at with the Falcons. Which almost makes his signing feel like a bandaid that could be ripped up at any point this season.

Now, Trufant is poised to fill the very big shoes of Fuller in a defensive backfield that lacked consistency. That is, unless Chicago finds his replacement in the 2021 NFL Draft, which feels like a no-brainer at this point.

Grade: C

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Desmond Trufant sticks in NFC North, signs with Bears

CB Desmond Trufant sticks in NFC North, signs with Bears

Former Lions cornerback Desmond Trufant isn’t moving far from Detroit. The veteran CB is signing a one-year deal to join the NFC North rival Chicago Bears.

Adam Schefter of ESPN was first to report the deal.

Trufant was a disappointment in his one season in Detroit. Signed to replace Darius Slay as a starting outside CB, Trufant struggled in the Lions’ passive scheme and at handling quickness on the outside. He played just six games before being lost to injury.

The Lions have a young tandem of outside CBs in Amani Oruwariye and Jeff Okudah that projects to remain as the starters.

The Bears are signing former Lions CB Desmond Trufant

The Bears may have already found their replacement for veteran CB Kyle Fuller in former Lions CB Desmond Trufant.

The Chicago Bears may have already found their replacement for veteran cornerback Kyle Fuller.

According to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter, the Bears are signing former Detroit Lions cornerback Desmond Trufant to a one-year deal.

Trufant joins the Bears just one day after news came out that the Bears would be parting ways with their former All-Pro cornerback. Fuller was due to have a cap hit of $20 million in 2021, which certainly made the move a possibility. Chicago saves $11 million by releasing him.

https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1373010415853142026

Selected in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons, Trufant spent seven years in Atlanta and became a key player on their defense. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 2015. Trufant signed with the Detroit Lions last season, but only played in six games due to injury. He picked off one pass and had four passes defended last year and has 14 career interceptions with three forced fumbles over his NFL career, which has spanned eight seasons.

The veteran defensive back likely becomes the starter opposite of Jaylon Johnson and takes over for Fuller, who will either be released or traded this offseason.

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Lions officially release CB Desmond Trufant

Lions officially release CB Desmond Trufant after one injury-filled season

It took quite a bit longer than expected to happen, but Desmond Trufant is no longer on the Detroit Lions. The team released the starting outside cornerback several days after reports surfaced that the move was coming. Detroit announced the release in the same press briefing that confirmed the re-signing of LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin.

The Lions attempted to trade Trufant but found no takers for the 30-year-old veteran and his $9.5 million base salary in 2021. Now Trufant is free to sign with any team.

The release has some salary cap oddities. The Lions will eat $6 million in dead cap due to guarantees in Trufant’s two-year, $20 million deal he signed last offseason. But the move frees up $6.19 million in cap room for the 2021 season for Detroit.

Trufant played in just six games with the Lions in an injury-ravaged season. He picked off one pass, broke up four and notched a sack amongst his 20 total tackles.

All contract info is referenced from Over The Cap.

Report: Lions will release CB Desmond Trufant

The widely expected move saves the team over $6 million in cap room

The Detroit Lions will release cornerback Desmond Trufant later this month, per a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The move will occur no earlier than March 17th, the start of the new league year.

Trufant’s pending release is not a surprising development. Releasing the starting cornerback after one season will save the Lions $6.1 million in salary cap room.

Trufant managed to play in just six games due to injury and did not perform well in his first season in Detroit. He signed a two-year, $12 million contract a year ago after an injury-plagued career in Atlanta. it is unclear if Trufant will be outright released or designated as a post-June 1st release, which could affect his dead cap figure.

Detroit has young talents at outside CB in Amani Oruwariye and Jeff Okudah, who project to start no matter what else the Lions do this offseason.

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Contract status of every Detroit Lions player heading into the 2021 offseason

Examining the contract status of every Detroit Lions player heading into the 2021 offseason, with position group is broken down into detail.

The Detroit Lions 2020 season is over and that means we’re on to the offseason.

Here, we will examine the contract status of every Lions player as the team heads into the 2021 offseason in order to get a better understanding of the team’s depth and needs.

Key Terms:

  • UFA = Unrestricted Free Agents are free to sign with any team come free agency
  • RFA = Restricted Free Agents can receive offers from other teams but the Lions hold the rights to match the offer or potentially receive compensation for losing the player
  • ERFA = Exclusive Rights Free Agents are only allowed to negotiate contracts with the Lions unless the team chooses to let them explore free agency
  • SFA = Street/Other Free Agents are players who were signed to any NFL franchise’s roster in 2020, but not on the active roster at season’s end. For this exercise, players on the Lions’ practice squad, who have seen their contracts expire, are now eligible to sign a Futures Deal with any team.
  • Of note: a futures deal is a contract — typically the league minimum with no guarantees — that allows younger players to be offered an early spot on a team’s 90-man roster, but their salary doesn’t impact the team’s salary cap until the league’s new year begins — in March when the unrestricted free agency period opens.
  • 2021 Cap Hit = This won’t always equal the amount of money a player is paid for the season, but it is an account of how much he will count against the team’s salary cap if he is on the 2021 roster.
  • Guarantees remaining = this is the remaining guaranteed money owed to the player over the remainder of his contract, not just 2021. If the Lions move on from a player with guaranteed money, that amount will count against the Lions cap, even though the player is no longer on the roster.

Players are grouped by position, with the starters bolded.

Lions activate TE Hunter Bryant from I.R., sign DT Kevin Strong to active roster

The Detroit Lions announced that they have activated rookie tight end Hunter Bryant from injured reserve and signed defensive tackle Kevin Strong to the active roster.

The Detroit Lions made a series of roster moves on Wednesday, including placing defensive tackle Danny Shelton and cornerback Desmond Trufant on injured reserve.

That transaction opened up two spots on the active roster and in a corresponding move, the Lions activated rookie tight end Hunter Bryant from injured reserve and signed defensive tackle Kevin Strong off of the practice squad.

Strong was just re-signed to the practice squad yesterday, but after spending the majority of the last 18 months on the roster, he is very familiar with the Lions defensive scheme and should be an immediate contributor.

While switching out Shelton for Strong seems like a one-to-one swap, they play at different spots on the defensive line, with Shelton splitting time between the nose and 3T, while Strong is a 3T, with range to play at defensive end in big sets.

Instead, expect sixth-round rookie nose tackle John Penisini to be injected into the starting lineup.

Bryant was a favorite target of Matthew Stafford in training camp and that relationship, along with above-average athleticism, will give him a shot to contribute right away, if healthy.

Bryant’s health is still a bit in question, as he has not seen the field this season, and this promotion could have come, not because he was healthy, but because his 21-day evaluation window was coming to a close. Meaning if the Lions wanted to play him at some point this season, he needed to be placed on the active roster this week.

Like Bryant, Julian Okwara and Darryl Roberts have completed their stints on injured reserve. While Bryant began practicing three weeks ago, Okwara and Roberts are just beginning to practice today which will start the clock on their 21-day evaluation period.

One final housekeeping note, the promotion of Strong to the active roster opened up a spot on the practice squad and that was filled by cornerback Alex Meyers. Undrafted in 2019, Meyers spent his rookie season on the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad before being released earlier this year.

Lions Week 12 Studs and Duds: Matt Patricia’s coaching style falters again

Reviewing the Detroit Lions Studs and Duds from their Week 12 loss to the Houston Texans on Thanksgiving Day.

The Detroit Lions invited the Texans over to Ford Field for Thanksgiving, and Houston feasted.

It’s hard to put the blame of this embarrassing loss on any individual players or coaches given how poorly Detroit played overall. Nevertheless, some people still managed to stand out in this 41-25 blowout.

Here are the 2020 Thanksgiving studs and duds:

Dud: Matt Patricia

The biggest dud of all is Detroit’s head coach. For a man whose job is on the line, it sure doesn’t look like he wants it.

This game was the combination of all of his faults throughout his tenure in Detroit. There were excessive turnovers, failed run plays, clock, and blown coverages on defense in this absolute embarrassment of a loss on the national stage. It’s clear that Patricia and his staff have not learned from any of their mistakes over the last three years.

Stud: Run defense

The run defense started strong and didn’t tone it down too much throughout the day.

Danny Shelton, John Penisini, and Nick Williams put up a stout defensive interior to hold the Texans’ running backs to just 49 yards. Especially when compared to the rest of the defense, these run stuffers excelled in their roles.

Dud: Desmond Trufant

The veteran cornerback’s drive-ending pass deflection wasn’t enough to keep him off of the duds list.

Trufant was beat early and often, allowing two receptions on the Texans’ opening drive. He struggled, especially in man coverage, throughout the first half before leaving with an injury.

Stud: Adrian Peterson

Despite starting the game with two carries for one yard, the future hall-of-famer gained 54 yards and two touchdowns on just 13 runs.

Dud: Johnathan Williams

Williams’ first career run as a Lion looked solid until he fumbled the ball and Houston capitalized with a touchdown in the following drive.

Stud: T.J. Hockenson

Hockenson earned the Lions two first downs on their first offensive drive and continued to be a safety net for Stafford throughout the rest of the game. The second-year tight end finished the game with five receptions for 89 yards.

Stud: Mohammed Sanu

Sanu stayed quiet for most of the game until the fourth quarter came around. Once this game was out of reach for the Lions, Sanu came through with four receptions for 32 yards, a touchdown, and a two-point conversion.

The veteran receiver was signed to the active roster this week and could end up being a reliable replacement for Kenny Golladay if he misses more of the season with his injury.

Detroit Lions Week 10 injury report: T.J. Hockenson, Jarrad Davis miss practice on Thursday

Examining the Detroit Lions Thursday injury report for Week 10 as they prepare to take on the Washington Football Team.

Examining the Detroit Lions (3-5) Thursday injury report for Week 10 as they prepare to take on the Washington Football Team (2-6). Overall the team’s health improved significantly since yesterday, except for the fact that T.J. Hockenson and Jarrad Davis were added.

Here’s a look at the Lions’ full injury report, with the updated changes in injury status listed in bold.

Injured reserve

No Practice

Player Injury Wednesday Thursday Friday Designation
Kenny Golladay Hip No Practice No Practice
T.J. Hockenson Toe Not Listed No Practice

Hockenson being added to the injury report after practicing in full on Wednesday indicates this is a recent injury, with the severity unknown at this time. Mid-week additions are typically bad news for Sunday — which would make matters even worse for the Lions, as they are expected to also be missing Golladay — but we won’t know how significant this is until tomorrow.

Limited practice

Player Injury Wednesday Thursday Friday Designation
Jamal Agnew Ribs Limited Practice Limited Practice
Hal Vaitai Foot No Practice Limited Practice
Joe Dahl Back Limited Practice Limited Practice
Nick Williams Shoulder No Practice Limited Practice
Jarrad Davis Knee Not Listed Limited Practice
Christian Jones Knee Limited Practice Limited Practice
Jayron Kearse Ankle Limited Practice Limited Practice

Davis, like Hockenson,  moving from a full practice to a limited practice indicates he was injured in practice this week, and like Hockenson his status for Sunday is in question. With Davis being limited today, it either means he was injured on Wednesday and is getting rest today, or he was injured today and couldn’t finish practice — the latter of which would be worse.

Vaitai and Williams were upgraded from no practice on Wednesday to limited on Thursday, pointing to them seeing improvement in their injuries or that they are not as significant as originally anticipated.

Agnew, Dahl, Jones, and Kearse have got in back-to-back limited practices, which is encouraging, especially for Agnew and Dahl who missed last week’s game.

Full Practice

Player Injury Wednesday Thursday Friday Designation
Matthew Stafford Neck Full Practice Full Practice
Tyrell Crosby Ankle Limited Practice Full Practice
Everson Griffen Non-injury No Practice Full Practice
Danny Shelton Chest Limited Practice Full Practice
Jeff Okudah Ankle/Groin Limited Practice Full Practice
Mike Ford Hip Limited Practice Full Practice
Tracy Walker Foot Limited Practice Full Practice

Of the original 14 players listed on this week’s injury report, half of them are already getting in full practices. That’s a good sign for this team’s overall health, especially considering five of them are starters.

Washington Report

Detroit Lions Wednesday Week 10 injury report: Kenny Golladay continues to miss practice

Examining the Detroit Lions Wednesday injury report as they prepare for a Week 10 matchup with the Washington Football Team.

The Detroit Lions (3-5) are preparing for a Week 10 matchup with the Washington Football Team and they have 14 players listed on this week’s Wednesday injury report, including 10 starters.

The most notable name is, of course, Matthew Stafford but he got in full practice and looks on track to play. While the most worrisome name is Kenny Golladay, who continues to miss practice and could miss another week.

Here’s a look at the Lions’ full injury report, with the updated changes in injury status listed in bold.

Injured reserve

No Practice

Player Injury Wednesday Thursday Friday Designation
Kenny Golladay Hip No Practice
Hal Vaitai Foot No Practice
Nick Williams Shoulder No Practice
Everson Griffen Non-injury No Practice

Golladay is expected to be out sometimes and his absence today was expected.

Vaitai left the game in the second half after re-aggravating his ankle injury. No practice on Wednesday could be a rest strategy on a lingering injury, but it could also be a problem. Of he can’t start this week, expect Tyrell Crosby (RT) and Joe Dahl (RG) to get the nod — though both are also banged up and limited this week.

Williams’ shoulder injury is likely a big factor in the Lions decision to protect Frank Herron on the practice squad this week. The last time Williams missed a game — Week 2 — it was Kevin Strong who was promoted in his place. But with Strong released today, it’s another solid indicator Herron could be a Saturday call up if Williams can’t go.

Griffen missed this practice with a non-injury, which typically doesn’t impact a player’s availability for the game.

Limited practice

Player Injury Wednesday Thursday Friday Designation
Jamal Agnew Ribs Limited Practice
Tyrell Crosby Ankle Limited Practice
Joe Dahl Back Limited Practice
Danny Shelton Chest Limited Practice
Christian Jones Knee Limited Practice
Jeff Okudah Ankle/Groin Limited Practice
Mike Ford Hip Limited Practice
Tracy Walker Foot Limited Practice
Jayron Kearse Ankle Limited Practice

Agnew did not practice or play last week, so a limited return is a big step in the right direction.

With Vaitai injured, the Lions could really use Crosby and Dahl to be available to start. Crosby played 100-percent of snaps last week, so he seems to be in good shape at this time, while Dahl missed last week’s game with his back injury, so his status is a little more vulnerable. If Dahl can’t go, Oday Aboushi is the next man up.

Shelton played a significant amount of snaps last week and didn’t look limited. He also looks in good shape to contribute on Sunday.

Jones has been dealing with his knee injury for almost a month now, and while he continues to get limited reps during the week, he plays a full game without issue. Expect the same.

Okudah was injured and left last week’s game early. Dealing with two injuries is not ideal, but it’s also something that’s possible to overcome if they aren’t too significant. Unfortunately, we won’t know how significant until later this week.

Ford has been relegated to special teams duties, but he took over a starting gunner role last week with Agnew out. Now that the Lions have placed McRae on IR, Ford could be an important factor at the gunner spot moving forward.

Walker didn’t get in a single practice rep last week, so like with Agnew, this is a big step in the right direction. Kearse, who took over Walker’s starting role last week, played on all but two defensive snaps, so like Crosby and Shelton above, there’s not a lot to worry about at this juncture.

Full Practice

Player Injury Wednesday Thursday Friday Designation
Matthew Stafford Neck Full Practice

First a COVID-19 scare, then a concussion evaluation, and now a neck injury — it’s been a rough week for Stafford.

A full practice is a strong indicator there isn’t much to worry about, but whenever the starting QB shows up on the injury report, it’s worth taking note.

Washington Report