Barry Sanders sees ‘a lot of similarities’ with these Detroit Lions, his run 30 years ago

When Barry Sanders came to Detroit as the second pick in the 1989 NFL draft, he joined a 4-12 team that hadn’t made the playoffs in six years, with a likable new head coach.

“I think the slogan was ‘Restore the Roar,'” Sanders said Tuesday.

One of the best running backs in NFL history, Sanders did that, helping the Lions make five playoff appearances in a seven-year span and finishing his 10-year career as the second-leading rusher in NFL history.

Thirty years later, he sees plenty of similarities between his decade in Detroit and the Lions team he roots for now.

“I think obviously there’s a lot of hope and anticipation for this year in particular,” Sanders said after the Lions’ first of two joint practices with the New York Giants. “We saw some promising signs from last season, and so just a lot of players coming into their own, a lot of players who really just stepped up, I feel like, and then the addition of new players that we’re excited about.

“So I think there’s a lot of similarities of what’s going to happen in our division, a lot of changes in the division, but this is one of the years you would have to say where the Lions are probably looked at as the favorite and that hasn’t — how many years has it been since that was the case? So there’s a lot of good synergy coming into this year and so now the only thing left to do is just take it to the field and make it happen.”

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Sanders led the Lions to a playoff appearance in his third NFL season — the Lions, who haven’t made the playoffs since 2017, are entering Year 3 under Dan Campbell — and helped the organization win its last division title in 1993.

He said that season’s 28-24 playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers, the Lions’ last home playoff game, still haunts him to this day.

The Lions led by 10 points early in the second half, but lost on a 40-yard touchdown pass from Brett Favre to Sterling Sharpe in the final minute when they left Sharpe uncovered in the end zone. The Packers have been the dominant team in the division for most of the past 30 years.

“I’m always wondering what if,” Sanders said. “Just such a heartbreak, but it was a good season. I didn’t realize that would have been the last season we won the division, are you kidding me? Wow, that’s crazy. But again, hopefully the narrative will change and the conversation will change and hopefully this group, I’m sure, looking at how the coaches feel about them and just the potential, you know it’s there and so we’ll see what happens when games start up.”

The Lions will unveil a statue of Sanders at Ford Field before their home opener Sept. 17 against the Seattle Seahawks.

Sanders, who spent several minutes visiting with Giants running back Saquon Barkley and Lions players Amon-Ra St. Brown, David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs after practice Tuesday, said being immortalized with a statue is “a tremendous honor” that feels “almost like going into the Hall of Fame again.”

“There’s probably fewer guys that have statues than are in the Hall of Fame,” he said. “So it’s all — it’s a really, really big occasion.”

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The eight-foot bronze statue, which was produced by Omri Amrany and Lou Cella of Fine Art Studio Rotblatt Amrany, will sit outside Ford Field.

“I may be the first. I don’t think I’m going to be the last, I’m not sure,” Sanders said. “At some point after I retired, the conversation started about a statue and you know how these things, all the right people have to sign off on it. So it’s beyond anything that I had planned, but certainly just excited to be a part of it and the whole build up to it and what have you has been pretty neat.”

Goff on Teddy

Lions quarterback Jared Goff said he’s “excited” the team was able to add Teddy Bridgewater to its quarterback room.

“I’ve heard nothing but great things and how supportive he is and how much of a good dude he is to have in the locker room,” Goff said.

Bridgewater, 31, has played for five teams in nine NFL seasons: The Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins. He went 0-2 as a fill-in starter last season for the Dolphins.

Goff said he does not know Bridgewater, though the two have crossed paths several times on the field. In 2019, Goff led the Rams to a 27-9 win over Bridgewater’s Saints, when Bridgewater threw for 165 yards after replacing an injured Drew Brees.

“I’ll pick Teddy’s brain,” Goff said. “He’s had a lot of ball under his belt of things he’s done in the past and ways that he’s done Mondays and Tuesdays and different things like that, and likewise with (backup quarterback) Nate (Sudfeld). He’s been very helpful and game week with Nate has been awesome. His demeanor on the sideline with me has been awesome, he’s been extremely helpful, and I know he’s been ready to play if his number is called.”

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.