Detroit Free Press

The Detroit Lions are headed to Mobile, Alabama, to coach the Senior Bowl this week. Historically, coaching the game has given teams a leg up on evaluating the prospects they work with. The Lions moved up to draft one of their best offensive linemen, Jonah Jackson, after coaching him in the 2020 Senior Bowl, and the

On Jan. 30, 2021, the Detroit Lions traded Matthew Stafford to the LA Rams. One year later, Stafford and the Rams are headed to the Super Bowl. Facing a 10-point deficit with just less than a quarter remaining in the NFC championship game, the Rams’ quarterback directed the 44th fourth-quarter comeback of his career —

Duce Staley will get his first crack at being a head coach next week, and Ben Johnson will get a trial run at offensive coordinator, perhaps in preparation for the real thing. Staley, Johnson and secondary coach Aubrey Pleasant will take on elevated coaching roles at the Senior Bowl, the college all-star game announced Friday. The

Amon-Ra St. Brown can’t turn on the NFL playoffs without seeing a hint of himself on the screen. In rookie receiver Ja’Marr Chase’s big plays for the Cincinnati Bengals. In Cooper Kupp’s bone-rattling blocks for the Los Angeles Rams. And in the creative ways the San Francisco 49ers use do-everything star Deebo Samuel. “I think

Sean Payton’s abrupt retirement as New Orleans Saints head coach could lead to big things for one of his former assistants. The Saints reportedly submitted a batch of interview requests for their head coaching vacancy Thursday, including one for Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. Glenn spent five seasons as Payton’s secondary coach before joining

Apple Podcasts | Spotify • Hosts: Shawn Windsor and Carlos Monarrez • Producer: Tad Davis • Executive producers: Anjanette Delgado, Kirkland Crawford • Email: swindsor@freepress.com On this episode: Shawn returns from the mend and he and Carlos break down every possible thought as Detroit Lions fan watch Matthew Stafford flourish in the NFL playoffs. Plus, the guys debunk the “Free Press Blue Wall” myth, once and

The Detroit Lions have been searching for a winning formula for the last half- century. But the blueprint is in plain sight. You can see it in how the Los Angeles Rams were constructed. Build up the roster through any means necessary. Be aggressive. Throw around No. 1 picks like they are candy, swapping them for

Was it ownership? The front office? The players in the locker room? A mix of all the above? Matthew Stafford is one win from reaching the Super Bowl in his first season with the Los Angeles Rams, and the former Detroit Lions quarterback said Wednesday he has not had time to reflect yet on why

He called it the “love of the game route.” And why not? Whatever else you think — or say — about Matthew Stafford, surely, you’d never question that. He showed how much he loved football during his 12 years with the Detroit Lions. Every. Single. Snap. The name of the route refers to a receiver going deep who knows he likely won’t get the ball. It’s a decoy, designed to

They don’t have a game-wrecking talent on defense like Aaron Donald or Nick Bosa, but the Detroit Lions do share one thing in common with the two participants in this week’s NFC championship game. Like the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers, the Lions have one of the best offensive lines in the NFC

If you’re not a regular listener to “The Morning After with Kelly Stafford,” you’re missing out. The wife of Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and former Georgia Bulldogs cheerleader now has her own show, and touches on all things in her life, including her relationship with her famous husband, fertility, parenting the couple’s four young girls,

When Matthew Stafford decided to seek a trade from the only NFL team he knew last winter, he called two of his offensive linemen, Taylor Decker and Frank Ragnow, to let them in on the news. Their message to Stafford: Go get yourself a gold jacket. The Hall of Fame-worthiness of Stafford’s career will be

New podcast episode above: Free Press Sports with Carlos and Shawn: Dave Birkett talks Detroit Lions, Senior Bowl QBs, NFL draft and (of course) Matthew Stafford “I told you so! I told you so! I told you so!” That was Dan Orlovsky’s emphatic message Monday morning, as he stood inches away from television cameras on

On a January night in 2021, Detroit Lions fans had to deal with the reality that their franchise quarterback and perhaps the team’s greatest quarterback since Bobby Layne was leaving. In the days and months that followed, Lions fans had to be thinking the same thing at least one point between that moment and now… “Watch

Let’s say you and your ex broke up. It was amicable. You both knew it wasn’t working Then you heard your ex had a new partner. You’re glad. Hey, if it wasn’t going to happen with you, why shouldn’t the other person find happiness? Then you learned your ex’s new partner had a ton of money,

I was one of the first reporters to call for Jim Caldwell’s dismissal as the Detroit Lions’ coach. But when reports surfaced that Caldwell is one of the favorites for the Chicago Bears’ job, I thought there was no one else I would like to see get that job more than him. Caldwell is a

T.J. Hockenson has been one of the NFL’s best tight ends when healthy the past three seasons. The problem? Hockenson hasn’t been healthy enough. Hockenson will spend the early part of the offseason rehabbing from season-ending surgery for the second time in three years. As a rookie, he broke his ankle in a Thanksgiving loss

Apple Podcasts | Spotify • Hosts: Shawn Windsor and Carlos Monarrez • Producer: Tad Davis • Executive producers: Anjanette Delgado, Kirkland Crawford • Guest host: Dave Birkett, Free Press sports writer • Email: swindsor@freepress.com On this episode: With Shawn out this week, Carlos is joined by Dave Birkett, the Detroit Free Press’ Lions beat writer. And as they’ve done for years in videos, podcasts and just between themselves,

Josh Allen was so good in the Buffalo Bills’ wild card win over the New England Patriots last week he had another NFL quarterback bare-chested cheering him on in the stands. Allen threw five touchdowns and had a near-perfect passer rating of 157.6, and you could argue his wasn’t even the best quarterback performance of the week.

Two NFL draft gurus dropped their latest 2022 projections Wednesday and one had quite the twist at No. 1. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. and The Athletic’s Dane Brugler each mocked the first round of the 2022 draft, with Brugler predicting the second-round picks, too. Both expect the Detroit Lions to get a pass rusher (Aidan