Detroit Free Press

Hungry Lions fans headed to Sunday’s season’s opener have plenty of food and dining options. Nearby Ford Field there is classic bar food, pizzas to burgers and fine dining. Game time is 1 p.m. and the Lions play the San Francisco 49ers. Some restaurants are open earlier than regular hours on game day and some

Apple Podcasts  |  Spotify  Justin Verlander left and won a title. Remember him? Remember that? Of course, you do. Many of you rooted for him to win the World Series. Detroit can be like that. I’m guessing it will still be like that if Matthew Stafford does the same. Oh, it won’t be as clean. And the

Penei Sewell is preparing to make his NFL debut at left tackle Sunday, though the Detroit Lions’ first-round pick did his part to head off any controversy about where his long-term future lies. Sewell said Friday he has worked primarily at left tackle in practice the past two days, since Taylor Decker suffered a finger

Welcome to the 2021 NFL season, complete with a 17th regular-season game! Normally, this is the section where we go over how anything can happen — after all, who expected Michigan’s Tom Brady to win his seventh Super Bowl ring last season? — but, well, the Detroit Lions aren’t exactly generating a lot of optimism, at least

With Taylor Decker likely out for Sunday’s season opener against the San Francisco 49ers, the Detroit Lions are debating how to replace their veteran left tackle. Decker suffered a hand injury in practice Wednesday likely will require surgery. Head coach Dan Campbell said Friday that Decker suffered the injury making a normal punch in pass protection

Dan Campbell couldn’t have been that big of an asshole. Former Detroit Lions long snapper Don Muhblach is returning to the organization as a special assistant who will help with football and business-related projects. The Lions cut Muhlbach in August, on his 40th birthday, which prompted Campbell to say a day later he was “an

Dean Marlowe was in his makeshift fourth-grade classroom, a double-wide trailer just outside New York City’s Public School 38, when he glanced out the window and saw his stepfather walking up the trailer’s ramp. Marlowe’s mother was a police officer in Harlem at the time, his stepfather a police sergeant across town in east Brooklyn,

The Detroit Lions are gonna lose a bunch of games this year. No shocker there, right? Six wins seems like a stretch. Five closer to reality, even with an extra game on the schedule. Climbing from the dark hole that was the Bob Quinn-Matt Patricia debacle, this organization has settled into a long-term rebuilding mode;

Calvin Johnson and the Detroit Lions remain at odds nearly six years after the Hall of Fame receiver played his last NFL game, but Johnson will return to the stadium he used to call home for an appearance this fall. Johnson is scheduled to receive his Hall of Fame ring in a ceremony at the Lions’

Taylor Decker missed the open portion of practice Thursday, leaving the Detroit Lions with a question mark at left tackle ahead of Sunday’s season opener against the San Francisco 49ers. Decker appeared on the Lions’ practice report Wednesday with a finger injury, and the team signed offensive tackle Will Holden to the practice squad Thursday

D’Andre Swift will not have any restrictions on playing time in Sunday’s season opener against the San Francisco 49ers despite missing the entire preseason with a groin injury, Detroit Lions running backs coach Duce Staley said Thursday. Asked before practice if Swift will be on a snap count in his first live action since January,

With the 2021 season upon us, beat writer Dave Birkett takes a position-by-position look at the Detroit Lions defense. Defensive line The Lions redesigned and rebuilt their pass rush after ranking at or near the bottom of the NFL in most defensive categories last season. Edge rushers Trey Flowers and Romeo Okwara are outside linebackers

Last week, hardly anyone knew who Trinity Benson was. This week, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell has fielded questions about what the  receiver’s role might be in his team’s NFL season opener against the San Francisco 49ers at Ford Field. The Lions acquired Benson in a trade last week with Denver. They sent the Broncos fifth- and

Tight end T.J. Hockenson and running back D’Andre Swift showed up on the Detroit Lions’ first injury report of the season, though both had full practice Wednesday. Both players were listed with injuries they have dealt with this summer. Hockenson was listed with a shoulder injury and Swift with a groin injury. Hockenson, a Pro

Six years after he was fired as Detroit Lions president, Tom Lewand is dipping his toes back into the football waters. Lewand, Lions president in 2008-15, is joining the new spring football league, Major League Football, as a special executive consultant. In his role, Lewand will help MLF president and CEO Frank Murtha navigate the

Free Press sports writer Carlos Monarrez breaks down the Minnesota Vikings, one of the Detroit Lions’ NFC North opponents, and their outlook for the 2021 NFL season. Minnesota Vikings Predicted record: 9-8. When they play the Lions: Oct. 10 (Week 5) in Minneapolis and Dec. 5 (Week 13) in Detroit. Why they’re better than the Lions Somehow the Vikings have morphed into

Three story lines that will define the Detroit Lions defense in 2021: How much better will the Lions be defensively this fall? Well, they can’t be worse, right? The Lions set franchise records for points and yards allowed last season, when they had one of the worst defenses in NFL history. They ranked near the

Students at Davison Elementary-Middle School in Detroit got books and school supplies Tuesday afternoon from Lions fullback Jason Cabinda. Cabinda said he wanted to do something for the students after virtually visiting with a group of them last year. Cabinda’s mom has been an educator for more than 25 years. He bought books for the 800-plus students to

D’Andre Swift missed the entire preseason with a groin injury his coaches said could cost him reps in the regular season, but Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell said Tuesday his starting running back “should be ready to go” for this week’s opener against the San Francisco 49ers. Campbell, in his weekly Tuesday morning appearance on

With the 2021 season upon us, beat writer Dave Birkett takes a position-by-position look at the Detroit Lions offense. Quarterbacks The Lions will have someone other than Matthew Stafford as their primary starter this fall for the first time since 2008. Stafford never won much in Detroit, but he put up big numbers and watching