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Go To: FlashUpdate / August Update Main Page
| Detroit Lions | ||
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Go To: Off-season Team Review
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| Most Recent News Updates: | ||
| DET -- Could Lions Extend Goff's Contract? (9/02/00:01 CT) | ||
| DET -- Holmes: Lions Were Never In On Trey Lance (9/01/19:01 CT) | ||
| DET -- Patterson Looking Like Lions' PK (8/29/14:30 CT) | ||
| DET -- No Surprise; Hooker To Open Season On NFI List (8/28/11:23 CT) | ||
| DET -- Sudfeld Reportedly Tore ACL; QB Seeking Second Opinion (8/28/09:28 CT) | ||
| DET -- LaPorta Still Looking Like A Day 1 Starter (8/27/18:09 CT) | ||
| DET -- Bridgewater Solid In Win Over Panthers (8/26/00:17 CT) | ||
| DET -- St. Brown Still Resting Ankle, But No Real Concern For Week 1 (8/22/13:21 CT) | ||
| DET -- Bridgewater Gets Some Playing Time Vs. Jaguars (8/19/20:32 CT) | ||
| DET -- Campbell Uncertain About Williams Medical Care While Suspended (8/19/01:13 CT) | ||
| DET -- Lions Waiving/Injured Denzel Mims (8/18/08:27 CT) | ||
| DET -- St. Brown Expected Back Next Week After Hurting Ankle (8/17/12:38 CT) | ||
| DET -- Campbell: Williams Likely To Miss Rest Of Preseason (8/17/09:36 CT) | ||
| DET -- St. Brown, Williams Banged Up In Practice (8/16/10:10 CT) | ||
| DET -- Gibbs Shows Off His Versatility In Exhibition Opener (8/15/00:13 CT) | ||
| DET -- Goff Acknowledges He Has A Chip On His Shoulder (8/10/04:55 CT) | ||
| DET -- Sanders Has Big Expectations For Gibbs, Montgomery Duo (8/09/00:04 CT) | ||
| DET -- Campbell: Lions Interested To See If Bridgewater's Still Got It (8/08/11:31 CT) | ||
| DET -- WR Williams Returns To Practice Today (8/08/09:31 CT) | ||
| DET -- Bridgewater To Sign With Lions (8/08/00:42 CT) | ||
| DET -- Initial Issues And Injuries Of Note (8/08/00:00 CT) | ||
Current News Updates
9/02 Jared Goff has two years left on his current contract and the prospect of extending his stay in Detroit has been a topic of conversation this offseason. ... As Profootballtalk.com notes Goff has a cap hit of just under $31 million this year and just under $32 million next year, so a contract extension would be a way to create space for other moves. On Friday, Lions General Manager Brad Holmes said that he has had “good dialogue” with Goff’s agents about a new deal but didn’t say whether anything would happen for Goff or guard Jonah Jackson, who is in the final year of his rookie contract, before the start of the season. “We’ve kept open dialogue with their agents in camp and I think the transparency has been good, so we’ll see how it goes,” Holmes said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Goff was seen as a placeholder when he was acquired from the Rams as part of the package for Matthew Stafford, but he’s proven to be a good fit in the Lions offense and a new deal would push the transition to a new quarterback even further into the future.9/01 GM Brad Holmes says a report that the Lions reached out to the 49ers about a potential trade for quarterback Trey Lance is incorrect. Holmes told reporters today that the Lions never reached out or communicated with the 49ers about a Lance trade. A report last week from TheAthletic.com said they did. The report came as a surprise because Lance wouldn’t make much sense for the Lions. Jared Goff is their starter, Teddy Bridgewater is their backup, and rookie Hendon Hooker is the young quarterback they want to develop. There’s just not room in the Lions’ quarterback room for Lance. The Cowboys ended up trading a fourth-round pick for Lance. Given how few other teams seem to have been interested in Lance, the Cowboys may have given up more than they needed to. 8/29 The Lions are waiving kicker John Parker Romo, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. For now, that leaves Riley Patterson as the only kicker on the roster. ... We'll be posting complete moves as they're reported through today's 4 p.m. ET deadline on our NFL Roster Cuts page. 8/28 As the Lions prepare to start the season, rookie Hendon Hooker will begin the season on the non-football injury list, source said, as he recovers from an ACL tear in college. No rush, with Detroit taking it slow with their No. 68 selection. 8/28 QB Nate Sudfeld suffered a torn ACL during the third quarter of Friday night’s preseason finale against the Panthers, sources tell ESPN's Adam Schefter. The Lions have not confirmed this, but HC Dan Campbell told reporters Sudfeld is seeking a second opinion after suffering knee injury. 8/27 According to ESPN.com's Eric Woodyard, tight end Sam LaPorta, a rookie, will likely be the Day 1 starter. He learned the playbook quickly this offseason and impressed in training camp. 8/26 A week removed from dawning No. 50 in his first time taking the field as a Detroit Lion, Teddy Bridgewater looked far more like himself wearing No. 17 and putting forth a promising night. Bridgewater connected with Antoine Green for a 70-yard touchdown that stood as the obvious and eye-popping highlight of the night, but was clearly more settled in throughout. He finished with a line of 13 of 22 for 178 yards and the TD toss. It was a stark difference from going 5 of 11 for just 34 yards a week prior against the Jaguars. Dan Campbell never minced words about being a big fan of Bridgewater, and the Friday version of Teddy B was exactly the veteran backup he was hoping to get. The Lions rested starting quarterback Jared Goff. ... Green, the team's seventh-round pick from North Carolina, finished with three catches for 97 yards. Craig Reynolds ran for 41 yards and a 5-yard touchdown as the Lions built a 20-10 halftime lead. Rookie cornerback Steven Gilmore returned a Jake Luton interception for a touchdown with 3:01 left to seal the win. Backup quarterback Nate Sudfield suffered an apparent lower-body injury when he was shoved out of bounds in the third quarter while rolling out of the pocket on a third-down pass play. He slowly walked off the field after the play, then was carted to the locker room. The specific nature of the injury is unclear. ... The Lions open regular season at Kansas City on Sept. 7. ... You can access complete stats for preseason Week 3 via our exclusive Fantasy BoxScore. 8/22 WR Amon-Ra St. Brown won’t be playing this week, but it doesn’t sound like there’s much concern about his ankle. St. Brown got hurt in practice last week and did not play against the Jaguars last Saturday. On Tuesday, HC Dan Campbell gave a positive update on St. Brown’s condition while adding that the team had never planned to have the wideout in the lineup against the Panthers. “He’s doing good, he’s doing good. We weren’t going to play him in Carolina, but he’s doing great,” Campbell said, via the team. St. Brown was not the only Lions receiver to get injured last week. Jameson Williams hurt his hamstring and his six-game suspension means that he won’t be joining St. Brown in the lineup to open up the regular season. 8/19 As ESPN.com's Eric Woodyard notes, veteran quarterback Teddy Bridgewater made his Lions debut in Saturday's game against the Jaguars, sporting a temporary jersey number (50) instead of his longtime No. 5, which is already taken by Lions running back David Montgomery. With most of the starters out, including Jared Goff, Bridgewater debuted -- and showed he still has to get acclimated to the new system. He went 5-of-11 for 34 yards and had a first-quarter fumble. Bridgewater signed as a free agent late, on Aug. 10, to not only provide depth as quarterback but also help in a mentorship role for some of the young guys, like wide receiver Jameson Williams. 8/19 WR Jameson Williams’ preseason is over because of a hamstring injury, and he’ll miss the Lions’ first six games because of a gambling suspension. HC Dan Campbell wants some clarity about how the team can ensure Williams gets the medical care he needs when he’s not allowed to practice, attend team meetings or play. Asked whether Williams can get treatment from the team while he’s suspended, Campbell said that he can’t, but also said the Lions need to find out exactly what the rules are. “It’s a good question. Technically, no, but we’re looking into that,” Campbell said. As Profootballtalk.com reminded readers, Williams barely played as a rookie last year because of a knee injury he suffered in the final game of his college career, and now the combination of the hamstring injury and the suspension is threatening to derail his second season. PFT went on to suggest that could be a concern for a player the Lions traded up in the first round to draft, but Campbell said he believes Williams can be ready to go in the Lions’ seventh game.“As long as he stays on top of the mental portion of it, you can get a lot out of the mental work,” Campbell said. “If he grinds on that, takes care of the hamstring, we’ll take it as it comes.” Williams’ status is one of the biggest questions facing the Lions heading into this season. 8/18 The Lions are waiving/injured WR Denzel Mims after a practice ankle injury led to a calf injury in rehab, a source tells NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. He had impressed in camp and could be an interesting addition when healthy. 8/17 WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (ankle) is expected to return to practice next week, HC Dan Campbell told reporters today. That's much better news than we got on Jameson Williams, who is likely to miss the rest of the preseaosn with a hamstring injury. 8/17 Jameson Williams' 2023 season is taking a bit of a hit. The second year Lions wide receiver is suspended for the first six games of the regular season for gambling. Now he might miss the rest of the preseason due to a hamstring injury. In Wednesday's joint practice with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Williams was running a deep route and pulled up lame clutching his right hamstring. It's just another setback for Williams who missed much of his rookie season recovering from an ACL injury. HC Dan Campbell confirmed a hamstring injury will likely sideline Williams for the next two weeks "As long as he stays on top of the mental portion of it, you can get a lot out of the mental work," Campbell said. "If he grinds on that, takes care of the hamstring, we'll take it as it comes." 8/16 According to Dave Birkett, Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown hurt his lower right leg on the first play or 7 on 7s, and is currently working with trainers. And Jameson Williams just pulled up grabbing his right hammy. ... We'll follow up as needed. 8/15 Jahmyr Gibbs displayed his signature versatility in a small sample size, turning 18 offensive snaps into seven touches for 37 yards in Friday's exhibition opener against the Giants. According to NFL.com, the 5-11 Gibbs showed shiftiness between the tackles, and also lowered his shoulder rather than retreat to the sideline on an outside run during his final drive. That extra effort picked up a first down and helped set up an eventual field goal, Detroit's only points of the first half. 8/10 When the Lions acquired Jared Goff as part of the Matthew Stafford trade ahead of the 2021 season, the general opinion was that the team would be looking for a new quarterback sooner rather than later. That opinion was proven incorrect. Goff has played well the last two seasons and the only quarterback the Lions have drafted is Hendon Hooker, who is coming off a torn ACL and is expected to be a redshirt as a rookie. As Profootballtalk.com suggests, while it’s clear that Goff has won the respect of the Lions, outside voices have not been as quick to share those sentiments. On Tuesday, Goff said that isn’t something of concern. “I don’t care,” Goff said, via Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press. “Don’t care. Don’t even know if I do or not. Try to win games for this team. That’s all. ...” Goff added that it is “always good to have the little chip on your shoulder that you want to prove people wrong,” so he may not be totally tuning out the outside noise but the approach he’s chosen is working for him and it’s part of the reason why there’s so much optimism around the Lions this season. Well, there's also last season, when Goff started all 17 games and finished sixth in the NFL in passing yards and fifth in TDs, making the Pro Bowl for the third time in his career (first since 2018). He posted five games with 300 yards and five with three or more TDs. The QB also took care of the ball. He led the league with 11 games with at least 25 pass attempts and zero interceptions. Amon-Ra St. Brown has emerged as true WR1 and there are additional weapon this season. There's plenty for fantasy managers to like here. 8/09 The Detroit Lions maneuvered into the No. 12 overall pick and snapped up Jahmyr Gibbs, the former Georgia Tech and Alabama stud, as the second running back of the NFL draft. Then the Lions dealt former starting running back D'Andre Swift to the Philadelphia Eagles, solidifying Gibbs as the front-runner for the starting job. Gibbs has top-end speed and acceleration, gets away from tacklers and is a weapon in the passing game. He's sure to infuse even more explosiveness into a Detroit offense that has been improving in recent years. Barry Sanders was in Detroit Tuesday, and the legendary running back is just as excited as everyone else for the Lions' 2023 season. Appearing on NFL Network on Tuesday, Lions great Barry Sanders told viewers he believes the retooled RB room that now features David Montgomery and Gibbs will help balance an offense that finished last season ranked top-five in yards (380.0) and points per game (26.6). "They want to be balanced and the guys they have in the room, that's what they're there for. They're there to make plays in the passing game, in the running game," Sanders said. "Being in this division, we've seen what Montgomery can do game in and game out. He's a 1,000-yard rusher every year, pretty much. So, we're looking hopefully for the same production. I believe they couldn't more geeked about Gibbs and being able to get him early in the first round, and what they've seen so far and his attitude and his approach to practice. When you get a young running back in camp and you see him in real live action with other players to see whether that speed transfers, whether he still has that speed, whether he still has that zip that he had in college. I think, so far, we see that he's going to be a guy that makes plays." Hard to argue with Sanders on this one. 8/08 Head coach Dan Campbell has worked with quarterback Teddy Bridgewater in the past and he’s about to do so again. The Lions have agreed to a deal with Bridgewater, but don’t expect to have him on the practice field until next week. Campbell was an assistant in New Orleans when Bridgewater piloted the team to a 5-0 record while Drew Brees was injured and he said on Tuesday that Bridgewater “kept the heading right where we needed it” during that stint. The Lions are looking for someone to do the same thing should something happen to Jared Goff and Campbell said the team will see if Bridgewater or Nate Sudfeld is the right guy for that role. “I think that’s what this is about,” Campbell told Christian Booher of SI.com. “The guy that’s gonna give you the best chance to win a game if you’re gonna need them. You may have to play a little different, that’s fine, every game’s different. You have to be a little more conservative or a little more aggressive in different areas of the game and the phases. Certainly, we know, that brings a different level of competition in. Teddy’s got skins on the wall, he’s done it, and we need to see if he’s still got it. That’s all. ..." As Profootballtalk.com notes, third-round pick Hendon Hooker is also on the roster, but his recovery from a torn ACL means he’s likely to be something close to a redshirt during his rookie season. 8/08 As Profootballtalk.com suggests this morning, preseason reps are going to be vital for Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams this summer and he’ll be back on the field to take them during Tuesday’s joint practice with the Giants. Williams missed practice over the weekend, but head coach Dan Campbell said at his Tuesday press conference that the wideout will be participating in the first of this week’s two joint sessions with the NFC East club. Williams also missed several practices earlier this summer while dealing with an injury. After missing most of last season while recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in college, Williams would have needed the reps even if he wasn’t set to serve a six-game suspension to open this season. ... Campbell said that wide receiver Denzel Mims is expected to miss Tuesday’s practice as he deals with a minor injury. 8/08 Bridgewater is signing with the Detroit Lions, a source told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler on Monday. The signing will reunite Bridgewater with Lions head coach Dan Campbell, who was the Saints' assistant head coach/tight ends coach when Bridgewater was in New Orleans. The deal is expected to be finalized this week, a source said. Bridgewater spent last season with the Miami Dolphins on a one-year, $6.5 million deal and was Tua Tagovailoa's primary backup. He ended up filling in for the injured Tagovailoa on multiple occasions, although he also was injured throughout the season. Overall, Bridgewater, who turned 30 in November, saw action in five games, completing 62% of his 79 passes for 683 yards and four touchdowns against four interceptions. Prior to joining the Dolphins, Bridgewater started 29 games over two seasons for the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos. The 2014 first-round pick also has played for the Saints and Minnesota Vikings over his eight NFL seasons, throwing for 15,120 yards and 75 touchdowns against 47 interceptions while completing 66.4% of his passes. He also has rushed for 84 yards and another 11 TDs. 8/08 The Lions have emerged as everybody's darling -- and with good reason. There's a lot to like. The one concern is filling the hole the team hoped it addressed when selecting Jameson Williams in the first round of last year's draft. Williams is suspended the first six games this season for gambling. Remember, Williams didn't make his Detroit debut until Week 13 of last season after recovering from a torn ACL he sustained with Alabama in the College Football Playoff national championship game. Williams was targeted just nine times once he joined the fold while carrying the ball once for 40 yards. Once more, he'll have some catching up to do when the 2023 starts, and the 6-1, 180-pounder figures to be ever eager to make the chance count. In the meantime, pieces like Marvin Jones Jr. and Josh Reynolds will need to pick up the pace and rookies Jahmyr Gibbs and Sam LaPorta could get additional bandwidth in the passing game.
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 Team Review
Fantasy Grade: B
The Lions enter 2023 with something that has been sorely lacking in recent years — positive momentum. And much of that momentum has been provided by an offense that ranked fourth in the NFL. Detroit raised some eyebrows this year by selecting Tennessee's Hendon Hooker in the third round, but Lions head coach Dan Campbell made it clear to reporters that Jared Goff remains "the guy" behind center in Motown. 'When you have a quarterback you can win with, why would you do anything else? We have a quarterback we can win with," Campbell said. 'He can win in this league. He's our guy. And thank God we've got him. There's a number of teams that are out there right now that don't know if they have a starting quarterback.' The Hooker pick wasn't the only selection the Lions made in the 2023 draft that made waves. After sign-ing David Montgomery in free agency, with the 12th overall pick the Lions drafted Alabama's Jahmyr Gibbs. Connor Allen of 4For4 believes we could see a similar situation to last years backfield of lYAndre Swift and Jamaal Williams. "With a new-look backfield of Gibbs and Montgomery, there is some uncertainty surrounding their projected roles," Allen wrote. 1 anticipate Montgomery and Gibbs to be a similar 1-2 punch that Swift and Williams were when both fully healthy. The Lions probably don't want to be slamming the diminutive Gibbs in between the tackles and will likely rely on Montgomery for short-yardage opportunities. Gibbs will likely be the primary back in almost every other situation if we rely solely on the immense amount of draft capital they spent on him. I anticipate most of Gibbs' touches being in space which will be a positive for his efficiency and fantasy upside. With that being said, it will be interesting to see how frequently the Lions mix in Montgomery on early downs." There may be some confusion as to who the lead run-ning back is in Detroit, but after topping 100 catches and 1.100 yards last season there's no doubt that Amon•Ra St. Brown is the team's top pass-catcher. The staff at Fantasy Pros expects another big year for St. Brown in 2023. "The Lions were 12th in passing plays per game last season (34.6), and although this backfield is entirely new, don't expect much of a change," they said. "St. Brown was a heavy favorite for Goff, and his 26 percent target was double the next closest player. Last season. he finished third in the league catches, the seventh-highest yards after the catch per game, and seventh in red-zone targets. Also, they won't have Jameson Williams to begin the season due to a suspension, and this means a great start for St. Brown." | ||
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2023 Off-Season News & Views
Click here for Complete set of News & Views
Click here for earlier off-season items |
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