Monday Notes: Roderick Hood to Visit Lions Today

Sean Yuille — Mon, 18 May 2009 04:02:07 -0000

7 months ago: Matthew Stafford of Georgia, (9), the No 1 overall first pick of the NFL draft, joins fellow Detroit Lions rookies Derrick Williams (12) of Penn State, and Brandon Pettigrew (84) of Oklahoma State, as they are photographed by Scott Clarke for Top Deck as National Football League draft pick rookies posed for NFL trading card photographers, at the Los Angeles Coliseum Saturday, May 16, 2009. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

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Rookies are going to report to Allen Park today to get ready for the first full-team OTA on Tuesday.
Cornerback Roderick Hood is going to visit the Lions today. Hood was released by the Cardinals mainly due to cap reasons and visited the Bengals and Browns last week.
The Lions released offensive tackle Junius Coston and wide receiver William Franklin, who was claimed in mid-April, last week. They also signed rookie tryout Ryan Kees to a contract.
Maurice Morris thought the Lions should have won eight games last year. I think that was just a general estimate based on watching highlights, but his point was that the Lions were not as bad as their record indicated last season. Quite a few of their losses were because of fourth quarter collapses, and others were just close games that didn't go in the Lions' favor.
Gosder Cherilus is more comfortable now that he has a year of the NFL under his belt.
Jim Schwartz brought Daniel Loper in to compete for a starting spot at left guard.
The salary cap has again gone up, this time by $947,000. The increase is due to accounting numbers being finalized, and usually the jump wouldn't be applied until the following year's cap. Since the cap is going to expire after this year, though, the NFL is applying the increase to 2009. (By the way, labor talks between owners and the NFLPA are going to begin next month.)
An interesting tidbit mentioned in the above-linked article is what the NFL's first ever cap number was, $34.6 million in 1994. It's pretty amazing to think about that when you consider that Matthew Stafford got $42 million of guaranteed money in his contract. It definitely shows you how much things have changed in the last 15 years.
According to Pro Football Talk, prior to the recent increase, the Lions had $7.4 million of cap space.
Calvin Johnson is 3rd in NFL.com's and 5th in The National Football Post's wide receiver rankings. I think those rankings are much more accurate than the Sporting News' rankings, which placed Megatron 11th.
Lions tight end Dan Gronkowski was quite the hockey player in high school. He said he will become a Tigers fan, but he isn't going to ditch the Buffalo Sabres for the Red Wings.
Former Lions defensive end Roger Brown is a member of the 2009 College Football Hall of Fame Class.

Lions Move Mulitalo, Dizon to Injured Reserve

Sean Yuille — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 15:23:40 -0000

With only one game left in the season, the Lions decided to move offensive guard Edwin Mulitalo and linebacker Jordon Dizon to the injured reserve. Since the season is almost over, this move basically means that neither would have played on Sunday. If both were going to be out, it only makes sense to sign a couple of players to replace them, as they will be right back on the active roster after the season anyways.

To replace Mulitalo, the Lions signed offensive guard Junius Coston, who has played for both the Packers and Raiders in his four-year career. Dizon's spot on the roster went to wide receiver Chris Hannon, who was claimed off waivers from the Dolphins. He had only been with the Dolphins since December 3, as he was claimed by Miami from the 49ers. San Francisco signed him after the Panthers released him in the final round of cuts this past August.

The Lions also made a couple of adjustments to their practice squad. Wide receiver Paul Raymond was released and linebacker Chris Graham was signed. Graham played at Michigan and was signed by the Saints as an undrafted free agent earlier this year. He also attended a Lions rookie mini-camp following the draft.

SB Nation - Junius Coston

Monday Notes: Roderick Hood to Visit Lions Today

Lions Move Mulitalo, Dizon to Injured Reserve