Kindle Vildor – Syndication Server

Kindle Vildor re-signs with the Lions

Cornerback Kindle Vildor re-signs with the Lions

Cornerback Kindle Vildor is returning to the Detroit Lions for another season. Several reports indicate the team and Vildor have agreed on terms of a new contract, though the exact details are not yet disclosed.

Vildor took over as a starter at outside cornerback late in the 2023 campaign and in the postseason. He was on the wrong end of an unlucky bounce off his helmet in the NFC Championship game.

Vildor joins newly acquired Carlton Davis, Amik Robertson and a re-signed Emmanuel Moseley, as well as 2023 rookie Steven Gilmore, at outside CB for Detroit entering the final weeks before the 2024 NFL draft.

Stay or go: Predicting the fate of all the Detroit Lions free agents

Which of the 18 unrestricted free agents will the Lions keep, and which ones will be suiting up elsewhere in 2024?

One of the harder parts of the offseason for NFL front offices is deciding which free agents they want to keep and which ones will have to leave. It’s a process Lions GM Brad Holmes and his Detroit front office staff are facing in the coming days.

The Lions have already made a couple of decisions, bringing back LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin and K Michael Badgley as pending free agents. That brings the total of unrestricted free agents for the Lions to 18 when the new league year starts on Wednesday, March 13th at 4 p.m. ET.

Which of the 18 unrestricted free agents will the Lions keep, and which ones will be suiting up elsewhere in 2024?

Detroit Lions unrestricted free agents now that the 2023 season is completed

With the 2024 offseason looming, here is the master list of the Detroit Lions unrestricted free agents

The Detroit Lions had an impressive season, coming within one game of a Super Bowl berth despite their loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Looking ahead, the future seems promising for the Lions.

GM Brad Holmes and Coach Dan Campbell are likely already diligently evaluating the roster, identifying areas for improvement to overcome the challenges. From a personal perspective, they should have the trust of the fanbase to execute the necessary moves. As they enter the offseason, the Lions possess $58.6 million in cap space, ranking sixth in the NFL according to Over the Cap. This substantial amount will likely be essential to bolster the roster, especially with only 38 players currently under contract for the upcoming season.

Certain players demonstrated their value this season, earning a return to the roster, while others failed to meet expectations. The decisions on who to retain and who to release will be intriguing. Here’s the comprehensive list of the Lions’ unrestricted free agents.

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Studs & Duds for the Lions playoff loss to the 49ers

Here are the Detroit Lions Studs and Duds as they fall one game short with the their loss to the San Francisco 49ers

The Detroit Lions’ remarkable season concludes on a heartbreaking note as they surrender a 17-point lead in a 34-31 defeat to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game.

In the first half, the Lions asserted control with a commanding 24-7 lead, showcasing an unstoppable offense and a defense that made crucial stops at opportune moments. However, the narrative took a sharp turn in the second half, as everything that could go wrong for the Lions seemingly did, creating a deficit they couldn’t overcome by the game’s end.

While the Lions’ season exceeded expectations, their inexperience and missed opportunities became evident in this critical game, leaving them just one step shy of a Super Bowl berth.

As we bid farewell to the season, let’s reflect on the Studs and Duds in the Lions’ loss to the 49ers in the NFC Championship.

Detroit Lions best and worst PFF grades from the playoff win over the Bucs

Let’s take a look at the best and worst PFF graded players for the Detroit Lions in their victorious encounter with the Buccaneers.

Following their triumph over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Detroit Lions are now on the cusp of glory, eyeing the NFC Championship game against the San Francisco 49ers.

The victory was the result of a collective effort from all three phases, reflecting the Lions’ characteristic resilience in close matches. This team is built to adapt, with each phase compensating when one aspect takes a moment to find its rhythm. While key players delivered outstanding performances that propelled the Lions to victory, there were also areas where improvement is needed as they prepare to face San Francisco.

Let’s take a look at the best and worst PFF graded players for the Lions in their victorious encounter with the Buccaneers.

Studs & Duds for the Lions playoff victory over the Rams

The Detroit Lions Studs and Duds for their playoff victory over the Los Angeles Rams

The Detroit Lions have finally broken a decades-long playoff drought, securing their first playoff victory in over 30 years with a narrow 24-23 win against the Los Angeles Rams.

The Lions dominated the early stages of the game, establishing an early lead. However, the second half became a defensive battle where the Lions showcased their supremacy by making crucial stops. Despite the mainstream media framing the game as Matthew Stafford’s return to Detroit, it was, in fact, Jared Goff’s revenge against his former team that ultimately led Detroit to victory.

The entire Lions community is buzzing with excitement on this triumphant day, with well-deserved praise circulating. While there is much to celebrate, there are also areas that need attention as the Lions gear up for the next round, where they will face either the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or the Philadelphia Eagles. Let’s delve into this week’s Studs and Duds from the Lions’ playoff victory against the Rams.

Best and worst PFF grades for the Lions loss vs the Cowboys

The best and worst PFF graded players for the Detroit Lions in their loss against the Dallas Cowboys

Even after a night’s rest, the sting lingers from the Detroit Lions’ 20-19 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, a defeat that can only be described as tough in every sense of the word.

Considering the competitiveness between two playoff-caliber teams, there were pivotal moments in the game where execution could have been different for the Lions. Unfortunately, the conversation now revolves around the referee error that nullified the potential game-winning two-point conversion for the Lions. Overcoming such challenging situations is tough, but this resilient team is poised to move forward, gearing up to face the Minnesota Vikings next week.

While some Lions delivered masterful performances last night, others may hesitate to review the tape. Here are the best and worst PFF grades for the Lions against the Cowboys.

Film room: Lions aggressive defense against the Broncos helps set the tone

Over the last several weeks, I’ve had some criticism towards the Detroit Lions defense. It was all warranted. They weren’t playing up to par and were getting torched on just about every possession. To fix it, the Lions had to make some tough decisions. They had to bench veteran players such as Jerry Jacobs and Tracy Walker.

This opened the door for players such as Khalil Dorsey, Ifeatu Melifonwu and Kindle Vildor. Love it or hate it, the defensive moves were needed. It appears to have provided a spark and hopefully, it’s one that wakes up other defenders that tend to sleep walk through some of these games.

One of the key adjustments the Lions needed to make on defense was to become more aggressive. Against the Broncos, they did just that. Russell Wilson went 18-for-32 with 223 passing yards and a touchdown.

But the pressure got to him as he was sacked twice and he was marked with four bad throws, per Pro Football Reference. In addition to that, Wilson was blitzed 15 times in this game and it led to 22 total pressures for the Lions defense. Let’s jump into the tape and take a look at some of the blitzes the Lions dialed up against the Broncos on Saturday night.

Starting with one of the biggest plays of the game, we direct our attention to the play above. The Broncos come out with their ’12’ personnel (one running back and two tight ends). To respond to it, the Lions defense have a single-high safety over the top of their defense and they’ve got a safety down in the box.

The safety down in the box is Ifeatu Melifonwu and the moment the ball is snapped, he fires up-field on a blitz. As quarterback Russell Wilson fakes the hand-off to the running back, he begins to roll to his right. Before he can even get his eyes downfield to try and find a receiver, he’s met by Melifonwu.

This blitz was designed perfectly and not only did Melifonwu hit Wilson for the sack, he also knocked hte ball out. This led to a fumble that was recovered by defensive tackle Isaiah Buggs. Even though the Lions offense weren’t able to put up any points after this turnover, it was a much needed play for the Lions defense. They needed to make a stop with the Broncos threatening to score. Additionally, this was a play that I’m sure helped build confidence for the Lions defense.

Next, I want to highlight another blitz made by safety Ifeatu Melifonwu. The Broncos come out in their ’11’ personnel (one running back and one tight end) but they’re in a condensed set with a slot receiver and tight end aligned near the tackles.

Once the ball is snapped, you can see how the Lions defensive backs rotate into what appears to be a Cover-2 look defensively. This gives them a two-high shell on both sides of the field but the key is Melifonwu. Once the ball is snapped, he flies towards the quarterback and his pressure forces Wilson out of the pocket. With good coverage by the Lions secondary, Wilson is forced to throw this ball away and the Broncos have to punt the ball away.

In this game, Melifonwu played a season-high 62 defensive snaps. He had one of the most productive days of his career. He had 9 total tackles, one sack and two pass deflections for a Lions defense that desperately needed a spark.

The last play I want to focus on is a blitz from defensive back Brian Branch. On the play above, the Broncos come out in a 2×2 set out of a shotgun formation. Aligned in the slot at the bottom of the screen is Brian Branch and he’s going to get a good pressure on this play.

Once the ball is snapped, the Lions send a 6-man pressure with Branch and Anzalone blitzing. Meanwhile, the Lions play man coverage on this and despite a miscue in the secondary (see the WR 17 on the bottom), the pressure from Detroit is real and it causes a bad throw.

As Branch blitzes, Wilson locks onto Jerry Jeudy on his right and is intending on taking a shot downfield. However, Branch delivers a shot to the back of Wilson and it causes this ball to float into the air and ultimately land incomplete. This forces the Broncos into a 3rd down but it’s good to see that despite being up 25 points, the Lions defense still has their foot on the gas.

With the Lions pushing for a division title and a shot at the playoffs, this defense will need to continue to be aggressive. Blitzing and putting trust in having good coverage downfield is one of the key ways this defense can keep the opposition at bay. It’ll be interesting to see what changes the defense continues to make with three games left in the regular season. One thing is for sure, they took a step in the right direction against the Broncos and hopefully soon, we’ll see Gardner-Johnson and McNeill back in the lineup too.

Snap count notes from the Lions win over the Broncos

Lions snap count notes from the win over Denver, including DB and RB splits and an intact offensive line

One of the first things that jumps out from the Detroit Lions’ snap count notes in the Week 15 win over the Denver Broncos is the continuity of the starters. It’s especially true on offense.

The entire starting offensive line played each and every one of the 66 offensive snaps. It was the first time since the Week 10 win over the Chargers that the team’s top five — Taylor Decker, Jonah Jackson, Frank Ragnow, Graham Glasgow, Penei Sewell — started and finished a game together. And it showed on the field, with the Lions rolling to almost 200 rushing yards.

Those rushes came from David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs in an almost even split of snaps. Montgomery played 34, while Gibbs got 32. No other RBs played. The Lions also did not use a fullback, though Dan Skipper played eight snaps as an extra tackle and blocking tight end James Mitchell was on the field for six. Mitchell still doesn’t have a single passing game target in his second season.

The wide receiver splits:

Amon-Ra St. Brown – 61

Jameson Williams – 45

Josh Reynolds – 38

Kalif Raymond – 20

Donovan Peoples-Jones – 11

On defense, LB Alex Anzalone was the only Lions player on the field for all 64 defensive reps.

The starting lineup changes in the secondary were definitive. Safety Ifeatu Melifonwu got the nod over Tracy Walker for the second straight game, and Melifonwu played 62 of the 64 snaps. Walker didn’t play on defense. The same was true at cornerback, where Khalil Dorsey replaced Jerry Jacobs. Dorsey (44 snaps) and Kindle Vildor (18) split the outside CB duties, while Jacobs only appeared on special teams.

Aidan Hutchinson’s heavy workload continues. The standout DE played 59 of the 64 snaps, another week over 90 percent participation. Some of that could be a function of the Lions deploying John Cominsky (46) and Josh Paschal (43) with more reps inside as part of a lighter front. Hefty DTs Benito Jones (30), Isaiah Buggs (23), Levi Onwuzurike (14) and rookie Brodric Martin (11) split more reps than usual with the lighter linemen.

Romeo Okwara (18) and Bruce Irvin (11) saw limited action. The Lions used rookie LB Jack Campbell in the SAM role a little amongst his 33 snaps. Derrick Barnes briefly left the game with a shoulder injury, and that held down his snap count to 35. Jalen Reeves-Maybin played 10, while Malcolm Rodriguez returned to the defensive lineup with five. Anthony Pittman played on defense for the first time in 2023, seeing action on four snaps.

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Expect more Kindle Vildor in the Lions secondary

Expect more Kindle Vildor in the Lions secondary after a solid Detroit debut against his old team, the Bears

Kindle Vildor made his Detroit Lions debut in Week 14. The cornerback, freshly signed off the practice squad, saw some action at outside cornerback against one of his old teams, the Chicago Bears.

Both his head coach and coordinator indicated they want to see more of the 26-year-old after his solid outing. He outplayed starter Jerry Jacobs, who has been struggling with his coverage assignments of late.

Head coach Dan Campbell isn’t ready to bench Jacobs in favor of Vildor, but Campbell did say to expect to see both of them in the Week 15 game against the Denver Broncos and their talented receiving corps.

“I still see him and Jerry kind of working in there a little bit together,” Campbell said this week.

Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn mentioned Vildor’s experience and intelligence in also reinforcing that both players are set to get action going forward.

“Well, I would say this about him, he’s played a good amount of football. In Chicago, actually, he played, I think he started there a couple of years, so he’s a common presence,” Glenn said. “He’s very smart and he understands exactly what we’re doing. So, we want to continue to try to utilize that.”

Vildor spent his first three NFL seasons in Chicago, playing over 1,500 snaps primarily as an outside cornerback. He’s been a player who allows completions but tends to terminate them quickly and not get burned for big plays, qualities which were on display in Week 14.

In the next breath, Glenn took up for Jacobs

“Listen, Jerry’s not a guy that we’re throwing away and I don’t want anybody to think that. Listen, there’s still skins on the wall with that player also, alright? And he’s done some good things for us, but the thing is, man, we’ve got to do everything we can to play at a high level and we’re going to continue to find the guy that’s going to do that for us.”