No Poison No Paradise - The Official Detroit Lions 2014 Offseason Thread

[Regular_P]

If Sammy Watkins is available at 10, I wouldn't be mad at that pick. Other than him, I want defense for the rest of the draft. Jarius Byrd would be a great free agent signing, but I don't know how they'd get the money to bring him in. That goes for all free agents actually.

 

[manyfaces]

If Sammy Watkins is available at 10, I wouldn't be mad at that pick. Other than him, I want defense for the rest of the draft. Jarius Byrd would be a great free agent signing, but I don't know how they'd get the money to bring him in. That goes for all free agents actually.

Pretty sure I read Buffalo is already talking bout franchising Byrd, so you can probably cancel that idea. 1 thing I've learned not to do is to fall in love with a name during the draft. I like Watkins, but I'm not gonna trip if that's not who they get at wr. I know they need to upgrade the position, but he ain't gonna be the only one productive out this draft. That name recognition be gettin fans hella jaded at draft time. If it ain't the nikka they heard of coming from the big school they would see every week, then it's a terrible pick.

I just wanna see a draft similar to last year, which I know is probably a huge reach. But if they can get at least 2 legit starters and a couple guys to help with depth and contribute some big minutes of the bench then I'm happy. At this point I don't care if it's a wr, lb, te, or safety, he better be a major contributor.

Edit: Honestly i would love for us to get a playmaker in the secondary out this draft. It's the only kennel of defense where we don't have one now. How I would love to see us with a ballhawking, rangey safety. And a real edge rusher to add to the stable would be nice too.

 

[godkiller]

Detroit should take a corner or safety.

 

[Regular_P]

Pretty sure I read Buffalo is already talking bout franchising Byrd, so you can probably cancel that idea. 1 thing I've learned not to do is to fall in love with a name during the draft. I like Watkins, but I'm not gonna trip if that's not who they get at wr. I know they need to upgrade the position, but he ain't gonna be the only one productive out this draft. That name recognition be gettin fans hella jaded at draft time. If it ain't the nikka they heard of coming from the big school they would see every week, then it's a terrible pick.

I just wanna see a draft similar to last year, which I know is probably a huge reach. But if they can get at least 2 legit starters and a couple guys to help with depth and contribute some big minutes of the bench then I'm happy. At this point I don't care if it's a wr, lb, te, or safety, he better be a major contributor.

Edit: Honestly i would love for us to get a playmaker in the secondary out this draft. It's the only kennel of defense where we don't have one now. How I would love to see us with a ballhawking, rangey safety. And a real edge rusher to add to the stable would be nice too.

I don't trust Mayhew's track record with WRs AT ALL. Watkins seems like a sure thing; if he's not there, I don't want Mayhew drafting a WR. Just sign one during free agency.

 

[manyfaces]

I don't trust Mayhew's track record with WRs AT ALL. Watkins seems like a sure thing; if he's not there, I don't want Mayhew drafting a WR. Just sign one during free agency.

But your boy Xanders is now on the scene. Maybe things will be different.

 

[Regular_P]

But your boy Xanders is now on the scene. Maybe things will be different.

Hopefully. I have my doubts though. Mayhew's probably gonna be out to prove he can have a quality draft after Xanders came on the scene and the team had their best draft since...forever.

 

[Knights89]

Hopefully. I have my doubts though. Mayhew's probably gonna be out to prove he can have a quality draft after Xanders came on the scene and the team had their best draft since...forever.

come on man...Some how Xanders pulled ranked and help bring the best draft in forever, only for Mayhew to come back into power I dont know who did what, but you;re beterr than that lol

Brian Xanders getting more love than than a back up QB

 

[iceberg_is_on_fire]

http://www.purplejesusdiaries.com/2...sts-of-rookie-contracts-haunts-the-lions.html

 

[eastside313]

Y'all can forget about Watkins being there at 10

 

[Regular_P]

come on man...Some how Xanders pulled ranked and help bring the best draft in forever, only for Mayhew to come back into power I dont know who did what, but you;re beterr than that lol

Brian Xanders getting more love than than a back up QB

I'm just fukking around on Mayhew trying to pull rank, but I refuse to believe it was a coincidence that the team had by far its best draft that I can remember the year Xanders arrived.

 

[Knights89]

Star Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh has fired his agent and is expected to sign with Roc Nation, an outfit that includes Jay-Z, for marketing purposes. ESPN reported that Roc Nation also would handle contract negotiations.

But nearly a month later -- and with just a week left until the start of free agency -- Suh remains without an agent. And now it seems it could stay that way, at least for his looming contact negotiation with Detroit.

Fox Sports' Mike Garafolo reported Tuesday that Suh is "toying" with the idea of becoming the latest player to negotiate his own contract.

With the advent of the rookie pay scale, which regulates first contracts and provides little room for negotiations, more players are representing themselves as they enter the league. Baltimore safety Matt Elam was a first-rounder who did it last year, which cut out the 3 percent or so that an agent would have earned for the deal.

It's rarer for veterans to do it, because their contracts are more complicated and varied, but it happens. Former Baltimore safety Ed Reed represented himself for a while. Just last summer, veteran San Francisco defensive lineman Justin Smith negotiated his own deal (and also showed some of the perils of representing oneself).


Suh has made more money in his first four years in the league than any player in history, but fired agent Roosevelt Barnes this offseason anyway. He is under contract for two more seasons, but 2015 is a voidable year.

The Lions would like to work out an extension with Suh, which would lock him into Detroit beyond next season and deflate his $22.4 million cap hit, the second biggest in 2014. That would free up some much-needed capital for Detroit's free agent pursuits.

Detroit general manager Martin Mayhew said last month he hoped to have an extension in place by around the start of free agency on March 11.

But with just four days until they can start negotiating with free agents, and seven until they can starting signing them, the Lions remain in limbo.

 

[Knights89]

Ndamukong Suh finally picks an agent

Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh decided to fire his agents way back in January. Now, just days before the start of NFL free agency, Suh has finally picked a new agent: CAA Sports' Jimmy Sexton, according to Liz Mullen.

For a while, it looked like Suh was simply going to sign with Jay-Z's Roc Nation Sports for both his marketing and contract dealings. It also looked like Suh might simply represent himself in negotiations, but he instead decided to go with Sexton, who represents several high-profile NFL players.
Sexton also represents former Lions head coach Jim Schwartz and many notable coaches. If you've heard Sexton's name before, there's a good chance it was in conjunction with a college coach getting a contract extension after his name came up in another team's search. This seems to happen every year, so Sexton is quite good at what he does.

For the Lions, this news simply means that they can finally begin contract negotiations with Suh. One of their top priorities all offseason has been to get Suh a long-term deal, and now they can start working toward a new contract. It seems highly unlikely that a new deal will be done in time for the start of free agency on Tuesday, but the Lions have enough cap space right now that there really isn't a need to rush things.

other news

The Detroit Lions have kicked off free agency by tendering contracts to all five of their exclusive-rights free agents.

The Detroit Lions have tendered one-year contract offers to four of their exclusive-rights free agents, according to Dave Birkett. The Lions extended offers on Friday to wide receiver Jeremy Ross, tight end Matt Veldman, linebacker Julian Stanford and cornerback Chris Greenwood, meaning all four players will be back going into the 2014 season. (Exclusive-rights free agents don't have the option of talking with other teams, so they will for sure be back.)

Via Birkett, here are the 2014 salaries for these four players:

• WR Jeremy Ross: $570,000
• TE Matt Veldman: $420,000
• LB Julian Stanford: $570,000
• CB Chris Greenwood: $570,000

It's no surprise that all of these players were tendered considering the cost is so low. Guys like Veldman, Stanford and Greenwood will at the very least provide some competition at their respective positions during training camp, and Ross should continue to serve as the Lions' kick and punt returner after a strong 2013.

Wide receiver Kris Durham is also an exclusive-rights free agent, and the Lions have already indicated that they plan on bringing him back, so chances are he will be tendered a contract as well in the coming days.

UPDATE: Tim Twentyman reports that the Lions have also tendered a contract offer to Durham, so all five of the Lions' ERFAs have been tendered.

 

[eastside313]

Ohio State's Ryan Shazier, Bradley Roby looking even more like first-round NFL Draft picks after Buckeyes' Pro Day
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ryan Shazier came up limping just after finishing his 40 at Ohio State's Pro Day on Friday, but only after doing what he needed to do. Shazier pulled his hamstring, after not running the 40 at the NFL Combine because of a tweaked hamstring.

But the 4.36 or 4.37 he laid down in front of about 70 NFL scouts and talent evaluators representing all 32 NFL teams, including Philadelphia coach Chip Kelly, Minnesota coach Mike Zimmer, several general managers and many scouts, made his point. (Kelly and Urban Meyer spent a lot of time hanging out. Maybe Meyer was absorbing more offensive ideas from the former Oregon coach and up-tempo aficionado.)

"I'm not really concerned about it because I was trying to rush it back so I can run for everybody, and they were telling me I shouldn't rush things," Shazier said. "I knew I wanted to run a 4.4, around there in that range, and I got what I wanted."

Combined with the 42-inch vertical leap at Indianapolis, Shazier has done a lot to push himself into the first round said one member of an NFL staff who thought otherwise a month ago. Shazier, after hurting himself at the start of the day, didn't do any position drills. But that was OK.

"I'm really happy with what I did," Shazier said. "I feel I kind of did what everyone wanted me to do. I definitely feel like I'm a first-round pick."

Shazier also weighed in at 237 pounds and said the main question he gets is about keeping on weight. One scout said he expected Shazier to be in the 220s, so putting on this weight for the combine and pro day, and still showing speed and explosiveness, bodes well for him.

"I feel like I can gain 10 more pounds if I had to," Shazier said. "I feel good right now."

Cornerback Bradley Roby, who ran well at the combine with a 4.37, put down what a scout said was the other most impressive drill of the day, along with Shazier's 40. Roby posted about a 6.7 time in the 3-cone drill, and otherwise looked smooth in position drills, as he had in Indianapolis.

That led one evaluator to conclude the the Buckeyes are most likely looking at two first-round picks when the NFL Draft kicks off on May 8 -- Shazier and Roby.

The four other Buckeyes who were invited to the combine -- running back Carlos Hyde, offensive linemen Corey Linsley and Jack Mewhort and receiver Corey Brown - also worked out. Hyde, who pulled his hamstring while running a 4.66 at the combine, did not run a 40, however.

Other Buckeyes -- including linemen Andrew Norwell and Marcus Hall, safeties C.J. Barnett and Corey Brown, kicker Drew Basil, receiver Chris Fields, running back Jordan Hall and former linebacker Etienne Sabino -- also ran, jumped and went through drills.

Safety Christian Bryant, still working back from a season-ending ankle injury, did not participate. He said he is feeling good but isn't quite at 100 percent, and he didn't want to work out until he was full-go. He said he hopes to possibly have another workout day at Ohio State later, when Hyde may also run.

That nikka shazor was all over the field when they played michigan

 

[detroitwalt]

According to Detroit lions 24/7 Ford has passed away
http://sidelionreport.com/2014/03/09/reports-say-detroit-lions-owner-william-clay-ford-died/

 

[*Hulks Up*]

According to Detroit lions 24/7 Ford has passed away
http://sidelionreport.com/2014/03/09/reports-say-detroit-lions-owner-william-clay-ford-died/

RIP but