SB Nation - Lamarcus Hicks

Lions Release Four, Place One on IR to Get Down to 75 Players

Sean Yuille — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 18:09:30 -0000

The first round of roster cuts is complete, and the Lions have released four players and placed another on the injured reserve. Wide receiver Demir Boldin, defensive end Ryan Kees, linebacker Robert Francois, and safety LaMarcus Hicks were the four who got released and cornerback Dexter Wynn was placed on the IR because of a hand injury he suffered last week.

The roster will be trimmed down to 53 players on Saturday. The Lions will scour the waiver wire to see if there is anyone they want to bring in, and after the roster is finalized, they will establish their practice squad.

I plan on posting a final roster prediction later today, and I'm happy to say that none of the players released were on my initial list of 53 players who will make the team. I will continue to refine it and have it up later this afternoon.

Shaun McDonald, Keith and Dwight Smith Placed on IR

Sean Yuille — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 22:44:59 -0000

The Lions placed wide receiver Shaun McDonald, cornerback Keith Smith, and safety Dwight Smith on the injured reserve today. The move ends all three of their seasons with only two weeks left.

McDonald was suffering from a lingering ankle injury, and Dwight Smith actually fractured his left ankle against the Colts. Keith Smith had a groin injury and couldn't stay healthy lately.

The move opened up three spots on the roster. They were filled by safety LaMarcus Hicks, who has been on and off the active roster quite a few times this season, cornerback Chris Roberson (he was on the practice squad), and wide receiver Travis Taylor, who was released by the Panthers at the end of August.

Wednesday Notes: Lions Sign Two, Release Three from Practice Squad

Sean Yuille — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 05:36:08 -0000

Safety LaMarcus Hicks, who was released from the active roster, was signed to the practice squad yet again. The Lions also signed wide receiver Joel Filani, who played for Seattle earlier this season, to the practice squad. Former Grand Valley State receiver Eric Fowler, tight end Jake Nordin, and cornerback Antonio Smith were released from the practice squad.
I expect to find out how many tickets are left for Sunday's game sometime today. My estimate is somewhere around nine or ten thousand. The last home game had around seven thousand tickets left on the Thursday before the game, so chances are there will be even more available since the Lions have lost twice since then.
MLive's Philip Zaroo rounded up some different reactions to the Lions' 2-point conversion attempt against Carolina that resulted in no penalties even though Daunte Culpepper got his face mask pulled. I personally like the headline of the post, as it shows how the referees must have been thinking during the play: "Lions QB Culpepper's facemask attacks hand of Panthers LB Beason."
Peter King suggests that a team like the Lions or 49ers take a look at hiring Scott Pioli, the Patriots' VP of Player Personnel. My belief is that if the Lions can't hire a proven general manager, then they should go after someone that works for a proven winner. The Falcons hired Thomas Dimitroff from the Patriots earlier this year, and that move looks like it was a pretty good one already.

Lions Claim Adam Jennings, Demote Drew Henson to Practice Squad

Sean Yuille — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 02:04:41 -0000

After re-signing Aveion Cason on Tuesday to improve the kick return game, the Lions made a move on Wednesday to improve punt returns. The Lions claimed wide receiver Adam Jennings, who was released by the Falcons on Tuesday. Jennings' main role will be to return punts, which is what his primary job was with the Falcons. The Seahawks and Vikings also claimed Jennings, but since the Lions have the worst record in the league, they have priority over every other NFL team when it comes to players on the waiver wire.

To make room on the roster for Jennings, the Lions released quarterback Drew Henson. Henson cleared waivers, allowing the Lions to re-sign him to the practice squad, which is where he was before Jon Kitna went on IR. Defensive back Antonio Smith was also signed to the practice squad to fill the vacancy created by LaMarcus Hicks, who was re-signed to the active roster last Saturday.

Thursday Notes: Culpepper Will Likely Start on Sunday

Sean Yuille — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 05:15:06 -0000

The odds of Daunte Culpepper starting against Jacksonville on Sunday are very, very good right now. Culpepper reportedly took the majority of the snaps with the starters in practice on Wednesday, and Dan Orlovsky's injury seems to be more serious than was originally reported. Orlovsky is planning on visiting a hand specialist in New York today, leading me to believe that he may end up on the injured reserve pretty soon. There is no way he will play on Sunday since he won't even be able to practice this week, so all signs point to Culpepper.
Dominic Raiola has started 104 games in a row. That is a very impressive streak for anyone, let alone an offensive lineman. Unfortunately, that streak is likely going to come to an end on Sunday. Raiola has a cast on his fractured right thumb and is expected to miss a few weeks. Raiola wants to play and simply snap with his left hand, but I highly doubt the coaches would let him do that.
According to Pro Football Talk, Daunte Culpepper's base salary for this year will be $343,529, which is prorated since he joined the Lions in the 10th week of the season. Culpepper will also get a $40,000 signing bonus and can make an additional $1 million "if he participates in five percent of the snaps and if he or the team improves in one of various performance categories." Next March Culpepper will receive a $2.5 million roster bonus if he is still on the team and is scheduled to make a base salary of $2.5 million.

Culpepper represents himself (is his own agent) and did a great job of negotiating this deal. The $1 million incentive is pretty surprising since it sounds so easily attainable, but I guess that is the Lions for you.
The Lions released defensive back Travis Key from the practice squad and re-signed safety LaMarcus Hicks to fill the open spot. Hicks was released on Monday to make room on the roster for Daunte Culpepper, and if Dan Orlovsky were to go on the IR, chances are Hicks would be promoted back to the active roster.
For anyone in a fantasy football league, don't forget that there is a game tonight. The Browns and Broncos play at 8:15 p.m. ET on the NFL Network, so make sure to adjust your lineups before then.

Wednesday Notes: Lions Release LaMarcus Hicks

Sean Yuille — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 05:43:25 -0000

To make room on the roster for Daunte Culpepper, the Lions released safety LaMarcus Hicks. This tells me that Dwight Smith is healthy again, as the Lions obviously feel the added depth at safety is no longer necessary. Most figured Drew Henson would get released when Culpepper signed, but as of right now he is still on the roster, meaning the Lions currently have four QBs.
Although Rod Marinelli is attempting to keep the Jaguars unaware of who will start for the Lions on Sunday, it certainly seems like Culpepper will get the nod over Dan Orlovsky.
Best news I've heard all season: Jason Hanson wants to come back for another season with the Lions. His contract is set to expire at the end of this season, but all signs point to him coming back for his 18th season in the NFL.
Lions punter Nick Harris could have played defense in college but chose punting instead.
Dan Orlovsky actually had to call his own plays on a drive against the Bears due to a communications issue with the Lions' headsets. Orlovsky is the one that called the Calvin Johnson end-around that went for a loss of 6 yards, and the Lions ultimately went three and out on the drive. The Lions apparently had similar problems against the Texans a few weeks back.
Nicholas Cotsonika thinks the Lions should consider hiring fired Rams coach Scott Linehan to be their offensive coordinator. The main reason for bringing up the idea is that Linehan was Daunte Culpepper's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in Minnesota. Anyone is better than Jim Colletto, that's for sure.
Speaking of Colletto, remember his comments from last week about how Drew Stanton would be embarrass himself if he started? Well, Rod Marinelli called the comments a "poor choice of words." Marinelli also said this about Colletto's comments:

“What he’s saying is, we want to make sure he’s got enough tools to go into a game with,” Marinelli said today.
I do think that is what Colletto really meant; he just said it in a very direct way. It's not like he wasn't telling the truth or anything like that, but Colletto probably shouldn't have been so upfront about Stanton.
Drew Stanton also spoke about the comments, and as you can imagine, he didn't exactly sound thrilled with Colletto's harsh assessment, especially since it was told to the media.

"That's fine -- he's entitled to his opinion," Stanton said Friday when asked for his reaction. "If he thinks that I (would) embarrass myself when I go out there, then that's what he believes and ultimately he's the offensive coordinator right now."

Added Stanton: "Anytime that you play for somebody that says they don't want you to go out there and embarrass yourself, obviously, that's not going to make you feel good. At the same time, that's his evaluation of me. Maybe I need to change his mind or whatever. Maybe I won't get the opportunity to. I can't worry about the words or the exact definition of what he's trying to say."
I feel sorry for Stanton simply because no player should have to be put in a position like that. Coaches need to be careful about what they say anywhere. But when they're talking to the media, they better watch every word that comes out of their mouth.
SI's Peter King thinks NFL teams should take a look at Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach.

Lions Fill Vacant Roster Spots

Sean Yuille — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:15:02 -0000

With Jon Kitna and Gerald Alexander now on the IR and Roy Williams in Dallas, the Lions had some roster spots that needed to be filled. To bring the roster back up to the maximum amount of players, the Lions signed safety LaMarcus Hicks from the practice squad to the active roster and also signed wide receiver John Standeford.

Hicks adds depth to the safety position and will presumably take on Alexander's role. Standeford brings added depth to the wide receiver position with Roy gone. Standeford played great in the preseason and didn't make the team only because the Lions didn't decide to take that many receivers initially. He is probably a better receiver than Brandon Middleton, who joined the team during the season because of his return abilities.

Wide receiver Paul Raymond and defensive back Travis Key were both signed to the practice squad. Raymond played for the Jets in the preseason, and Key is a rookie from Michigan State. Key was a member of the Vikings before he was released and later signed to the Browns' practice squad.

Lions Release 20, Place 2 on IR to Trim Roster to 53 Players

Sean Yuille — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 00:39:01 -0000

The Lions announced their 53-man roster today after releasing 20 players and placing 2 on the injured reserve. The two players placed on the IR were running backs Brian Calhoun and Aveion Cason. With both Calhoun and Cason done for the year, you would have thought that Artose Pinner would make the team, but he didn't. That means the Lions will carry only two running backs going into the regular season.

Here is the full list of the players released today by Detroit:

QB Drew Henson
RB Artose Pinner
WR Ron Bellamy
WR Devale Ellis
WR Brandon Middleton
WR Kenneth Moore
WR John Standeford
TE Clark Harris
OT Jonathan Scott
OG Frank Davis
OG Corey Hulsey
DE Victor DeGrate
DE Rudolph Hardie
LB Darnell Bing
LB Buster Davis
LB Leon Joe
CB Dovonte Edwards
CB Kiwaukee Thomas
S Greg Blue
S LaMarcus Hicks

I'll post a full analysis of what all of this means tomorrow.