Tag: michael brockers

Lions injury report: Ragnow, Swift among 5 sitting out Wednesday’s practice

Frank Ragnow and D’Andre Swift were among 5 Lions sitting out Wednesday’s practice on the team’s injury report

The first practice injury report of the week from the Detroit Lions in advance of Sunday’s Week 2 matchup with the Washington Commanders could be a little scary for Lions fans.

Starting center Frank Ragnow and top running back D’Andre Swift both sat out Wednesday’s practice. So did starting left tackle Taylor Decker, as well as guard Tommy Kraemer and defensive tackle Michael Brockers.

Swift is coming off the best game of his career, a 144-yard rushing effort that has him nominated for the FedEx Ground Player of the Week.

Ragnow missed practice time last week with a groin injury. He played through the pain in Week 1, and his absence on Wednesday should be considered precautionary. Decker was spotted at practice with a compression sleeve on his lower leg. He did not have an injury status last week and played the entire game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Brockers has typically been given veteran off days in practices.

The full injury report from the Lions from Wednesday:

Okwara and Melifonwu both missed Week 1 with their ongoing injuries. Jackson played every snap on Sunday and played well.

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Lions restructure Michael Brockers contract to free up cap space

The move frees up an extra $2 million in cap room this year but makes it harder to move on from Brockers after the season

The Lions players are off from practice on Tuesday, but the team still did a little business with its oldest player. Per Field Yates of ESPN, the Lions have tinkered with DT Michael Brockers’ contract to free up some cap space in 2022.

Yates reports the Lions converted $4 million of Brockers’ $7 million base salary in 2022 to a signing bonus. The move frees up an extra $2 million in cap space this season.

The Lions had just over $2.9 million in cap space available prior to the restructure with Brockers. Detroit recently made a similar maneuver with left tackle Taylor Decker to get on the right side of the NFL’s cap.

The restructure does come with a cost. Brockers now counts an extra $2 million against the team’s cap figure in 2023, taking his figure to $13.975 million according to Over The Cap. It means cutting Brockers, who has not done a lot on the field in his time in Detroit, after the season now costs $2 million more in 2023 dead cap.

Also, the Lions would now lose even more cap room by releasing or trading Brockers during this season.

As for what the Lions intend to do with the newfound cap room? Stay tuned…

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Lions vs Eagle: Best and worst PFF grades for Week 1

The Detroit Lions best and worst PFF performers in their Week 1 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Surely it wasn’t the start the Detroit Lions were hoping for in their Week 1 home opener. The Lions fought their way back, making it a close contest, but in the end, early mistakes and slow starts led to the downfall against the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35.

The offense started very well, scoring on their first drive, but afterward, it came to a screeching halt with the next three drives resulting in three-and-outs and, as a result, gassing the defense as they were having troubles with their own against Jalen Hurts. Afterward, the offense did find their stride, especially through the running game, which had been working throughout the day, and the defense powered through, giving the Lions a shot, but it just wasn’t enough.

In years past, the Lions would’ve called it quits and just let the Eagles continue their onslaught. Not this time. This Detroit squad showed plenty of fight and a lot of grit, which has been the Lions mantra since Dan Campbell took over. Teams are still finding their footing at the beginning of the season, and as long as they clean up the mistakes, the Lions could fight a way to turn out wins.

Here are this week’s best and worst PFF performers for the Lions against the Eagles.

Lions name their captains for the 2022 season

The Detroit Lions chose 6 team captains for the 2022 season

The Detroit Lions players and coaches have voted for their team captains for the 2022 season. Six players will don the captain’s “C” on the jersey for Detroit.

On offense, quarterback Jared Goff and center Frank Ragnow earned the captaincy. Both have shown real veteran leadership not just at their position groups but across the entire offense all offseason.

Defensively, three Lions will share the captain duties. Veteran DT Michael Brockers, the only player on the roster over 30 years of age, was an obvious choice. Linebacker Alex Anzalone and safety Tracy Walker will also serve as captains.

On special teams, linebacker Josh Woods gets the nod. It makes sense for a player who earned his roster spot almost exclusively because of what he brings to the punt and kick units.

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Michael Brockers on rookie Aidan Hutchinson: ‘He’s a man on a mission’

Brockers talked highly of Hutchinson during his weekend youth football event in the Houston area

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As the greybeard on the Detroit Lions roster, veteran defensive end Michael Brockers knows the league and what it takes to succeed quite well. The 31-year-old is liking what he sees so far from No. 2 overall pick Aidan Hutchinson on that front.

Brockers held a youth football and cheerleading camp in his home city of Houston over the weekend. He spoke with reporter Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network on a few issues. One of them was the Lions playing hard and being a difficult opponent in 2021 even though they only won three games.

“They knew we coming the whole 60 minutes of the game,” Brockers said with a smile. “That’s what I love about being here (in Detroit), that enthusiasm to be in Detroit, to play for Detroit, to be a Lion.”

He then veered into talking about first-round pick Aidan Hutchinson.

“He is a man on a mission,” Brockers said of his young defensive linemate. “He does everything he’s supposed to do, you don’t even have to tell him. This is him doing a lot of his rookie duties. We didn’t even ask him, he just went and did it. ‘What do you guys need for the (DL) room’ and stuff like that.”

Brockers continued,

“This is a man who thinks ahead. You can respect a guy like that. He has a lot of respect in my book.”

The veteran lineman indicated Hutchinson took care of “food, water and snacks”.

Brockers also had a great message about his mantra of “work while nobody’s watching you”, something that is further proof he’s cut from the same cloth as head coach Dan Campbell and GM Brad Holmes.

Lions free agents and veterans receive their jersey numbers

The new players got their numbers and quite a few returning Lions changed their jersey numbers as well

It appears that the newest members of the Detroit Lions have received their jersey numbers. The rookie class got their numbers, and now the veteran free agents signed this offseason have their new jerseys as well.

Wide receiver DJ Chark will wear the number 4 for Detroit after wearing 17 the past few seasons in Jacksonville.

Safety DeShon Elliott initially wanted the number 7, which is retired by the Lions. He opted to stick to the single-digits and will wear number 5.

Cornerback Mike Hughes will wear number 23, which was previously held by Jeff Okudah.

Safety JuJu Hughes, who wore 46 and 23 for the Rams, will now wear 33 in Detroit.

Linebacker Jarrad Davis was able to receive the number 40, which he wore during his first stint in Detroit as well as throughout his collegiate career.

Linebacker Chris Board will don the number 49, which he held during his time with the Baltimore Ravens.

After wearing 46 – a much less-popular number for tight ends – while in New Orleans, Garrett Griffin will wear 86 with the Lions.

Several returning members of the Lions have changed their jersey numbers as well.

Former first-round pick Jeff Okudah will have his third jersey number in as many years as he swaps out his 23 for number 1, which he wore at Ohio State.

With Elliott taking 5, kicker Aldrick Rosas will now don number 13. Fellow kicker Austin Seibert gave up number 4 and will now sport 19. Mark Gilbert gave up his number 40 to Davis and will now wear 29.

On the defensive line, Michael Brockers switched to number 90, which he wore during his time with the Rams. Second-year player Levi Onwuzurike will change from 75 to 91, a much more apt number for a starting defensive tackle. Bruce Hector also changed out of his number in the 70’s and will now wear 92.

The full list of new numbers and changes are as followed:

Jeff Okudah – 1 (previously 23)

DJ Chark – 4

DeShon Elliott – 5

Aldrick Rosas – 13 (previously 5)

Austin Seibert – 19 (previously 4)

Mike Hughes – 23

Mark Gilbert – 29 (previously 40)

JuJu Hughes – 33

Jarrad Davis – 40

Chris Board – 49

Garrett Griffin – 86

Michael Brockers – 90 (previously 91)

Levi Onwuzurike – 91 (previously 75)

Bruce Hector – 92 (previously 76)

 

 

Michael Brockers stands alone as the greybeard on the Lions roster

Lions DL Michael Brockers is the only player on the roster over 30 years old

Folks of a certain age might remember the decree, “Don’t trust anyone over 30”. That Baby Boomer mantra doesn’t mean much in the modern Detroit Lions locker room.

Only one current Lions player qualifies as a veteran authority figure over the age of 30.

Defensive lineman Michael Brockers is the greybeard of the entire roster. He’s 31. Nobody else on the Lions is even 29, let alone 30. Right guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai is next on the age list, and he’ll turn 29 in June. Tight end Garrett Griffin, left tackle Taylor Decker and long snapper Scott Daly are the other current 28-year-olds in Detroit.

The Lions are trusting the advice of the hippies on the age front.

By way of comparison, the Lions have four players who are just 21. First-round picks Aidan Hutchinson and Jameson Williams, third-rounder Kerby Joseph and returning right tackle Penei Sewell are all still 21. Williams was barely legal to enjoy an adult beverage to celebrate his draft; the Alabama WR turned 21 in late March.

Michael Brockers raves about Dan Campbell in interview with Rich Eisen

Brockers really liked playing for Dan Campbell in 2021 even though the Lions didn’t win a lot

Earlier this week, Detroit Lions defensive lineman Michael Brockers appeared as a guest on the Rich Eisen Show and raved about head coach Dan Campbell.

That offseason, it was evident that the Lions were in rebuild mode. Following the hires of Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes, the Lions traded away quarterback Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams for Jared Goff and a handful of draft picks. Brockers was acquired by the Lions via another trade with the Rams not long after that.

“I was a part of like the whole new revamp – you know the team – so when he got hired I was soon to be hired after that.”

Brockers opened the interview by talking about Dan Campbell’s energy.

“He’s Dan Campbell. He’s all the way there.”

Brockers reveals that the Dan Campbell that the fans see is the same guy the players see, whether it is in practice or on game days.

The veteran defensive lineman went on to explain why the team rallied around Campbell and his staff, and a lot had to do with him being a former player.

“We enjoy playing for him,” Brockers said. “He’s an iconic player’s coach, he was a player, so he understands what we go through mentally, physically throughout the year.”

In a league where, surprisingly, not many head coaches have played professional football at all, Campbell and his eleven years of playing experience stand out to the players. Brockers sounded appreciative of Campbell and his understanding of what players go through during the season.

“When you have a guy who looks out for you, you want to look out for him.”

When asked about Campbell’s infamous “kneecaps” speech, Brockers had this to say:

“It was a little, you know, out there but I got what he meant. And that’s what you’ve seen from us this year is like: We’re not gonna give up. We don’t care who you are. We understand that we’re the Detroit Lions and everybody has this stigma about us. But we’re changing and we’re coming for you.”

It’s evident that Brockers, who is heading into his eleventh season in the NFL, has a lot of optimism for Campbell and this young Lions team.

Brockers started 16 games for Detroit as a defensive lineman where he recorded 52 tackles and a sack.

You can watch the full conversation between Brockers and Eisen here.

Michael Brockers: ‘The city of Detroit is awesome’ and he’s happy despite his old team being in the Super Bowl

Brockers: “The city of Detroit is awesome. The fans are awesome and I really want to get things turned around for them”

One year ago, Michael Brockers was a starting defensive end for the Los Angeles Rams. It was a role Brockers held for nine straight seasons and handled very well.

Flash forward to now, and the Rams are in Super Bowl LVI without him. Brockers was traded to the Detroit Lions last March for a seventh-round draft pick. In his underwhelming first season in Detroit, the Lions struggled to a 3-13-1 record

In an appearance on The Jim Rome Show, Brockers reflected positively on his first year in Detroit and not being on the Rams anymore. In fact, he sure seems happy to be where he is and not lamenting what could have been with his old team.

“It was an all-around — it was a blessing,” Brockers said earnestly.

What about the Rams?

“People keep asking me, ‘man how do you feel'”, Brockers responded. “I’m happy for my guys (old Rams teammates). I’m happy. I’m in a great place. The city of Detroit is awesome. The fans are awesome and I really want to get things turned around for them.”

As for the coming year, Brockers is very optimistic. When asked if he thinks the Lions can compete for the postseason in 2022, Brockers did not hesitate.

“Definitely,” he told Rome on radio row at the Super Bowl. After recounting several of the close losses (the last-second field goals), he talked about the experience the young Lions learned from those and believes it will make them better-equipped to win in those situations next season.

Brockers is a busy man off the field. He told Rome he’s the happy father of four, ages six to just three months old. It’s a good, engaging few minutes with the veteran Lion and one of the team’s leaders.

Thanks to Chad at the Jim Rome Show for the clips!

4 players the Lions could cut to free up cap room in 2022

4 veteran players the Lions could cut to free up cap room for 2022

This offseason figures to be an important one for the Detroit Lions and GM Brad Holmes. Between the 2022 NFL draft and the upcoming free agency period, the Lions are positioned to add several impact talents across the roster. They certainly need them if they hope to finish better than 3-13-1 in the second year of the Holmes/Dan Campbell regime.

One of the ways they can attempt to improve is addition-by-subtraction. Jettisoning overpaid veterans whose salaries might be better spent on different players who fit the current Lions better than the “Patriot Way” era and using those funds to boost free agency spending makes a lot of sense.

The Lions don’t have a lot of options on that front. Cutting Taylor Decker or Jeff Okudah, as examples, would technically cost the Lions more cap room than they’re paying for those players in 2022. Here are four that do fit the bill of potential cap casualties in the name of progress.

All the cap figures here are based on roster moves that would be designated post-June 1st, per Over The Cap.