Detroit Free Press

We’ve seen this too many times. Nick Fairley. Eric Ebron. Charles Rogers. These Detroit Lions were high first-round draft picks who carried the hopes of the team and either fell far short of fulfilling their potential or were outright busts. These were Lions whose stories might have turned out differently — should have turned out

For most of the Detroit Lions key players, the offseason program is over and it’s time to get some rest. The Lions still have one week of organized team activities on their schedule, but coach Dan Campbell has once again excused veterans from the last batch of voluntary workouts and will spend next week focused

Apple Podcasts | Spotify • Hosts: Shawn Windsor (@shawnwindsor) and Carlos Monarrez (@cmonarrez) • Editor: Robin Chan • Executive producers: Anjanette Delgado, Kirkland Crawford • Email: swindsor@freepress.com On this episode: This week, Carlos and Shawn tackle the power and leadership dynamics of Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes within the Detroit Lions organization. Later, we talk the surprising merger of the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. Catch

The next time Jared Goff wins a football game — especially if it’s a fourth-quarter comeback or if he, heaven forbid, tosses a walk-off touchdown — you can bet the internet will blow up with callbacks to the image the Lions released earlier this week. Goff was at a media shoot, and a couple of

Jonah Jackson is done with the marathon video game sessions, at least for now. The late-night “Call of Duty” battles with his brother are on hold, and he won’t be going to the Taylor Swift concert this weekend. at Ford Field As a new father, Jackson has more important things on his mind. The Detroit

It was the second day of minicamp, no pads, with players in “pajamas,” as Dan Campbell likes to say. But Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs gave everyone a glimpse of why he was the 12th pick of April’s draft. On the fourth play of team period Wednesday, Gibbs found himself in a mismatch out

There are big expectations for the Detroit Lions this season. They are the NFC North favorite. But should they be the pick as the surprise team to challenge the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC? Stephen A. Smith said yes on ESPN’s First Take show Wednesday. (Cue Lions fans’ “oh no” reactions.) “I will openly admit,

Dan Campbell made a big statement on Tuesday. No, it wasn’t a silly T-shirt celebrating Brad Holmes and the Droste Effect. It was subtler than that, but a lot more meaningful and it spoke volumes about what the Detroit Lions coach thinks about quarterback Jared Goff compared to where he came from in Los Angeles

Slow starts have bit the Detroit Lions in the butt the past two years, and Dan Campbell is determined not to let that happen again. “That’s something that I’m always thinking about is how do we do this? Is there a different approach? Were we too light? Were we too hard? Do we need to

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff said he did not take offense to teammate Jameson Williams’ social media post earlier this spring liking a suggestion the Lions trade for Lamar Jackson. “You guys are bored, huh?” Goff said Tuesday on the first day of mandatory minicamp. “Yeah, it’s all right. He likes Lamar, that’s OK. I’ve

There’s certainly lots of buzz around the Detroit Lions going into the upcoming season. Despite failing to make the playoffs last year, they were the closest they have ever been since 2016. Unfortunately, their fate wasn’t entirely up to them, and a Seattle Seahawks’ win over the Los Angeles Rams shut the door on the

Hendon Hooker has tried to be the first player at the Detroit Lions practice facility most days this spring. On Tuesday, Day 1 of mandatory minicamp, the rookie quarterback was the last player on the field. Hooker took an important step in his recovery from the torn ACL he suffered last November, throwing routes on

More than two years after the Detroit Lions traded quarterback Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams for quarterback Jared Goff and draft picks, the Stafford and Goff worlds are intersecting again. Kelly Stafford, who is married to Matthew Stafford, recently interviewed Christen Harper, who is engaged to Goff, for her the latest episode of

The Detroit Lions are in no rush to add more competition to their quarterback room, even if Hendon Hooker is forced to take a redshirt season this fall. Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said last week he likes where the team is at with the quarterback position. Nate Sudfeld is currently ticketed for backup duties

The Detroit Lions are closing in on the end of their formal offseason program. The Lions host three days of mandatory minicamp Tuesday-Thursday, and if tradition holds, this will be the last time most of the team’s veterans will be in Allen Park until summer. The Lions have their final four organized team activities next

There’s a temptation in sports to tinker, often out of fear, because the status quo is an enemy of improvement. This is especially true in football, where 95% of the work done during the season comes via practice, meetings and the film room every week. For coaches then, the offseason is damn near nirvana: A

This is Part 1 of the Free Press’ “Five most important players” series, in which we’ll take a look at the x-factors for the six major beats. Freep Lions beat writer Dave Birkett consulted on this list. Starting this series with a look at the Detroit Lions is an interesting challenge. That’s because there are

He’s not this year’s first-round pick or last year’s star of “Hard Knocks,” and that’s why it was a surprise to see Derrick Barnes taking first-team reps at linebacker when the Detroit Lions opened organized team activities last week. Barnes, a fourth-round pick out of Purdue in 2021, has been the most overlooked member of

Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell said he has taken a more proactive approach to educating players on the NFL’s gambling policy after at least four Lions were found to have violated league rules on betting. “I think, for us, it’s much more an emphasis from us, as opposed to just leaving it to the league,”

I listened to Jameson Williams last week. Then I listened to Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell on Thursday. And now, with a week of careful consideration between the two, I have something to say. Williams must do two things: He has to grow up — fast — and he should apologize to Jared Goff.