Detroit Free Press

Dave Birkett Detroit Free Press Published 6:01 AM EDT Sep 3, 2020 A day after the Detroit Lions gave Taylor Decker a four-year, $60 million contract extension, Lions coach Matt Patricia said the reason the team decided to splurge on the 27-year-old offensive lineman is simple: He’s the type of foundational player they want to build

Dave Birkett Detroit Free Press Published 6:14 PM EDT Sep 2, 2020 The first thing Taylor Decker did when he agreed to a four-year, $60 million contract extension with the Detroit Lions on Tuesday was call his parents. “I didn’t want them to have to read it on ESPN,” Decker said. “Those are the two

Dave Birkett Detroit Free Press Published 1:12 PM EDT Sep 2, 2020 You may not be able to attend a Detroit Lions game at Ford Field until November, but your likeness can. The Lions announced Thursday they will sell cutouts of fans for home games this fall that will be placed in the lower bowl

Dave Birkett Detroit Free Press Published 10:48 AM EDT Sep 2, 2020 The first email went out at 7:15 a.m. Friday, notifying all coaches and staff members that the rainstorms soaking the metro had forced Detroit Lions practice to move inside. The second followed moments later and hit 20 inboxes with a succinct urgency: Practice today

Kirkland Crawford Detroit Free Press Published 11:04 AM EDT Sep 2, 2020 Former Michigan State football star Kirk Cousins, as is the rest of the NFL, is preparing for a season unlike any other.  And when it comes to the threat of COVID-19, the quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings does not sound all that concerned. 

Dave Birkett Detroit Free Press Published 6:01 AM EDT Sep 2, 2020 The first email went out at 7:15 a.m. Friday, notifying all coaches and staff members that the rainstorms soaking the metro had forced Detroit Lions practice to move inside. The second followed moments later and hit 20 inboxes with a succinct urgency: Practice today

Dave Birkett Detroit Free Press Published 6:44 PM EDT Sep 1, 2020 When the Detroit Lions called off practice last week to spend the day protesting the shooting of Jacob Blake, it made one of the higher-ups at the NFL office swell with pride. “I was proud and happy to see that the organization, from Rod

Dave Birkett Detroit Free Press Published 6:24 PM EDT Sep 1, 2020 Even a global pandemic couldn’t keep the Detroit Lions from signing their left tackle to a big-money contract extension. Less than four weeks after he said the uniqueness of this season had presented “a lot of challenges” to getting a deal done, left

Tyler J. Davis Detroit Free Press Published 1:26 PM EDT Sep 1, 2020 If Kenny Golladay’s excellence was a secret, the cat’s out of the bag.  The Detroit Lions wideout — coming off a 1,190-yard, 11-touchdown season — joined quarterback Matthew Stafford on ESPN’s ranking of the top 100 NFL players for the 2020 season. Stafford was ranked the 52nd-best

Dave Birkett Detroit Free Press Published 10:37 AM EDT Sep 1, 2020 D’Andre Swift returned to practice Monday for the first time in almost two weeks and will remain a limited participant on Tuesday. Swift suffered a soft-tissue injury during practice Aug. 20 and has been on the field sparingly since. Detroit Lions coach Matt

Dave Birkett Detroit Free Press Published 10:07 AM EDT Sep 1, 2020 Kerry Hyder. Joe Dahl. David Blough. Every year there’s someone who cements their place on the 53-man roster with a strong showing in the fourth preseason game. Hyder did it in 2016, when he opened eyes with a three-sack performance against the Buffalo

Carlos Monarrez Detroit Free Press Published 8:25 PM EDT Aug 31, 2020 The Detroit Lions still hope to have fans in attendance at Ford Field this season. The team announced Aug. 21 that no fans will be in attendance for its first two home games of the season: for the opener Sept. 13 against the

Carlos Monarrez Detroit Free Press Published 6:11 PM EDT Aug 31, 2020 You’ve got to hand it to Bob Quinn. He knows how to read a room. Even virtually. The Detroit Lions general manager knows he’s not exactly adored these days at NFL headquarters because of the snafu one month ago involving quarterback Matthew Stafford’s

Dave Birkett Detroit Free Press Published 3:17 PM EDT Aug 31, 2020 Matt Patricia has always been a very hands-on head coach. He called defensive plays for at least part of his first two seasons with the Detroit Lions. He routinely spends time after defensive series talking to and working with individual position groups during

Dave Birkett Detroit Free Press Published 11:51 AM EDT Aug 31, 2020 Nick Bawden is headed to injured reserve for the third straight season, paving the way for converted linebacker Jason Cabinda to win the starting fullback job. The Detroit Lions placed Bawden on IR before practice Monday, either ending his season prematurely or forcing

Dave Birkett Detroit Free Press Published 6:01 AM EDT Aug 31, 2020 With five practices left until roster cut-down day, Brayden Coombs has an incredibly tough decision to make. Coombs, the Detroit Lions’ first-year special teams coordinator, said there’s so little separation between Jack Fox and Arryn Siposs for the punting job he’s joked with

Dave Birkett Detroit Free Press Published 4:18 PM EDT Aug 30, 2020 The Chicago Bears won’t say who will be throwing passes for them when they open the regular season Sept. 13 against the Detroit Lions, and the Lions won’t say who will be trying to pick those passes off. Lions defensive coordinator Cory Undlin said

Dave Birkett Detroit Free Press Published 2:27 PM EDT Aug 30, 2020 Detroit Lions coach Matt Patricia appears poised to be giving up defensive play-calling duties this fall. New Lions defensive coordinator Cory Undlin said Sunday he plans to be on the sideline during games this season where he’ll be “calling the defense.” Undlin, who

John Reid Florida Times-Union Published 10:25 AM EDT Aug 30, 2020 The Jacksonville Jaguars have agreed to accommodate defensive end Yannick Ngakoue’s wish by trading him to the Minnesota Vikings for a second and conditional fifth-round pick that could go as high as a third-round pick, according to reports. Ngakoue, 25, will still have to sign his

Dave Birkett Detroit Free Press Published 6:02 AM EDT Aug 30, 2020 Another training camp is in the books, my 11th covering the Detroit Lions for the Free Press, and as different as this one was, it wasn’t so bad. The football looked the same. The daily nasal swabs weren’t that uncomfortable, and they did