Lions workouts – Syndication Server

Lions work out 4 defenders, sign J.R. Reed to the practice squad

The Lions held tryouts for a few defenders on Tuesday, including two former Detroit players

Tuesday was an off day for practice at the Detroit Lions team facility, but there was still activity in the building. The Lions held a tryout for four defensive players and wound up signing one to the team’s practice squad.

Detroit signed veteran defensive back J.R. Reed to the practice squad after the tryout. Reed, 26, is a safety who played collegiately at Georgia. He’s been in the NFL for the last two-plus seasons, most recently with the Las Vegas Raiders practice squad. Reed played 16 games in 2020-2021, splitting time between the Los Angeles Rams and New York Giants. He played for the Denver Broncos all offseason and preseason.

The other players Detroit auditioned on Tuesday include a couple of ex-Lions, S Brady Breeze and DL Eric Banks, as well as DB Adrian Colbert. Banks and Breeze both played for the Lions in the 2021 season.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbx8sj47vkwrznr player_id=none image=https://lionswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Lions hold ‘local day’ workout for wide range of NFL draft prospects

The local day is a workout and different from the pre-draft visits

The Detroit Lions hosted a diverse group of locally-based 2022 NFL draft prospects at the team facility in Allen Park on Monday for the annual “local day” workout. The range of players ran the gamut from potential No. 1 overall pick Aidan Hutchinson to a Dutch TE (via Eastern Michigan) Thomas Odukoya, who projects as an undrafted free agent.

The local day is different from the regular pre-draft visit. This is more of an actual football tryout for the players, a chance to show what they can do on the field. On-field activities are strictly forbidden on pre-draft visits, which are also (mistakenly) known as “top 30 visits”. This workout is limited to college players who fall within the Lions’ league-defined local area, either by college or from high schools in the area.

Among those who were slated to be in attendance for the closed event:

Cincinnati CB Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner
Michigan RB Hassan Haskins
Michigan EDGE Aidan Hutchinson
Saginaw Valley State WR Chad Gailliard
Princeton LB Jeremiah Tyler
Michigan S Dax Hill
Eastern Michigan TE Thomas Odukoya
Wisconsin S Scott Nelson
Michigan DT Christopher Hinton
Ferris State OL Zein Obeid
Western Illinois QB Connor Sampson
Michigan OL Andrew Steuber
Michigan S Brad Hawkins
Western Michigan LB/S A.J. Thomas

Lions worked out 4 DBs including Jamar Taylor, Grant Haley

Jamar Taylor and Grant Haley are the most prominent names

Faced with a rash of injures in the defensive backfield, the Detroit Lions brought in four free agent DBs for workouts on Monday.

Most prominent among the names is journeyman Jamar Taylor. An experienced slot corner who has played in a wide variety of defensive schemes and teams — he’s been active for six different teams in the last five seasons — Taylor was originally a second-round pick by the Dolphins in 2013.

The others:

CB Grant Haley
CB Alexander Myres
CB Jaylen Watkins

Haley started three games for the New York Giants in 2019 and was a second-round pick out of Penn State in 2018. He is a Detroit-area native and registered a sack in the meeting with the Lions in 2019.

None of the players have been signed as of yet.

Lions work out several free agents including former Michigan State QB Brian Lewerke

Lewerke and former Michigan RB Karan Higdon headline the workouts

The Detroit Lions welcomed several NFL free agents into Allen Park on Tuesday for a tryout with the team. Among the notable names are a Michigan State quarterback and a Michigan running back.

Per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, the Lions auditioned eight players on Tuesday. The eight:

CB Breon Borders
WR Emmanuel Butler
DT Demarcus Christmas
S Evan Foster
RB Karan Higdon
LB Jalen Jelks
QB Brian Lewerke
WR Cameron Meredith

Higdon played at Michigan before joining the Houston Texans in 2019. He spent his rookie season on the Texans’ practice squad. His tryout in Detroit came on his 24th birthday.

Lewerke was a three-year starter for the Spartans before going undrafted this April. He is Michigan State’s all-time leader in yards from scrimmage. He was waived on Saturday after spending training camp with the New England Patriots.

Foster is a Detroit-area (West Bloomfield) native who played collegiately at Syracuse. He is an undrafted rookie.

Lions worked out 4 DBs including former Michigan CB Jeremy Clark

The Detroit Lions are in the process of cutting down the roster to just 53 players by Saturday, but they are still also looking to add potential talent too.

The Lions worked out four defensive backs as part of Monday’s festivities at team headquarters in Allen Park. The foursome, courtesy of Kyle Meinke of MLive,

Derrick Baity
Jeremy Clark
Treston Decoud
Ajene Harris

Clark is probably the most familiar name for Lions fans. He played collegiately at Michigan before being a sixth-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. He was most recently with the Seattle Dragons of the XFL after several injuries derailed his Jets career.

None of the players were immediately signed to the roster.

[vertical-gallery id=49421]

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.

Bob Quinn: Matthew Stafford will be “full-go” for offseason workouts

Detroit Lions general manager Bob Quinn spoke to the media at the 2020 NFL Combine and confirmed Matthew Stafford is healthy and will be available for offseason workouts, which are just over two months away.

Quinn said he spoke to Stafford within the last few weeks and that Stafford is “feeling really good, training full, and he’ll be full-go for offseason program”.

As the press conference continued, Quinn was asked questions about selecting players with the No. 3 overall pick, how he contemplates knowing when it’s time to move on from a player, and when those topics merged, Quinn expressed his confidence in Stafford’s talent.

The one thing about Matthew (Stafford) is his number one trait is still the same as when I came here four-and-a-half years ago. He still has that great arm strength. He’s a competitor. He’s tough. He’s sneaky athletic. I think he’s improved his athleticism a little bit over his career. He does a great job taking care of his body.

So, you take all those things into consideration, just like any other player, are they ascending, or are they declining? I think it’s different for every position in terms of how old they are. In my opinion, when you’re a quarterback your prime is your late twenties into your early thirties. That’s your prime, because you take your first part of your career and you’re working on all those other things.

As we saw, how did Matthew play last year when he was out there? I think everyone would agree he played really good. So that’s what we’re expecting when he comes back.

Stafford, who just turned 32 years old less than two weeks ago, falls within Quinn’s definition of “prime” for a quarterback, which is why it’s also not surprising that he has been so insistent that Stafford will not be traded.