It seems that there are a lot of questions or misconceptions in regards to the way that the current set up of free agency works. To answer any questions, I'll explain the different levels of free agency and then list the current Lions players that the individual tags would apply to. Keep in mind, this is for the current system, and will likely be void come next round of free agency when a new collective-bargaining agreement (CBA) is agreed upon.

The first thing that must be understood, is by "seasons accrued", a player must be on the active roster, Injured reserve, physically-unable-to-perform list, or designated inactive for at least 6 weeks of the season. So a guy like Tim Toone has yet to accrue a season, as he was on the practice squad and was never active.

Exclusive-Rights Free Agent (ERFA):

These players have accrued less than 3 seasons with their current contract expiring. In this situation, the team has the right to offer a "qualifying offer", which would be established in the CBA. Once the team has done this, the player either has to accept the offer, or sit out the upcoming season.

Current Lions who would become ERFA under the current CBA:

Zack Follett

Stefan Logan

Caleb Campbell

Restricted Free Agent (RFA):

RFA's are players who have accrued at least 3 seasons but no more than 5 seasons and have a contract expiring. Teams then are allowed to tender, or place a specific draft pick value upon the player that they would receive in compensation if a player rejects their offer and signs with a new team. If a player does not sign with a new team before the deadline (established in the CBA), they must accept the teams offer or sit out the season.

Current Lions who would become RFA under the current CBA:

Kevin Smith

Cliff Avril

Chris Houston

Jerome Felton

Andre Fluellen

Dylan Gandy

Bobby Carpenter

Drew Stanton

Corey Hilliard

John Wendling

Dave Rayner

Brandon McDonald

Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA):

UFA's are players who have accrued at least 6 seasons and their current contract is expiring. These players are free to negotiate with any other team unless the franchise or transition tag is placed on them by their current team.

Franchise tag - Depending on salary offer, a player can be "exclusive" or "non-exclusive". If a team offers a minimum of the average of the top five salaries at the player's position for the current year, or 120 percent of the player's previous year's salary, or the average of the top five salaries at his position as of the end of last season, whichever of the three is greater must be offered to distinguish the player as exclusive and the player may not negotiate with any other team. To be considered non-exclusive, the team would offer a minimum of the average of the top five salaries of last season at his position, or 120 percent of the player's previous year's salary. With this tag, other teams can make offers, and if the player signs with another team, 2 first round draft picks would be given to the former team.

Transition tag - A team must offer a minimum of the average of the top 10 salaries of the prior season at the player's position or 120 percent of the player's prior year's salary, whichever is greater. If another team makes an offer, the team has the right to first-refusal and is able to match the offer and then keeps the player. If they do not match, they lose the player and are not awarded any compensation.

These tags may be placed on any level of free agent.

Current Lions who would become UFA's under the current CBA:

Jared DeVries

Landon Johnson 

Nathan Vasher

C.C. Brown

That pretty much covers it, but as I said, the status of many of these players will change with a new CBA. Also, I do not claim to be an expert, just a fan who wanted to be more informed and did some research. If anything is wrong, let me know as well as posting a link to the correct info.

A lot of this info came from the NFL, Rotoworld, and the Detroit Lions

looks like many of you are getting your wish after all. I think it's a good move, we get to see what Derrick Williams can do and if anything, it might wake up BJ.

I don't necessarily dislike Bryant as much as some do, but I really think a guy like DWheelz has the versatility that Schwartz likes, as I could see him  running end arounds, catching short screens, or deep post routes. I think he lacks confidence at this point in his career, but maybe he get's a chance to gain some of that swagger today against the Cowboys.

Link

Hey guys, I had set up a fantasy football league and the draft was supposed to be last night, but some people dropped out last minute. So if anyone is interested, its over at yahoo.com.

name: 658446

password: golions

The draft has to be before Wednesday at midnight, I was thinking tomorrow evening sometime. Do it up, we need 5 more to get to 10. It's free and you just gotta create a yahoo membership if you haven't already. Any questions about the rules or complaints post just reply as everything is flexible and I'm open to input.

Ok, before I get eaten alive, I like Zack Follett. I think he has a great attitude and is a hard hitter. He's interesting to follow and deserves to be a fan favorite. But after training camp and two preseason games, I think he is not a starting caliber LB. He misses tackles, looks lost, takes poor angles, and pass coverage is not impressive. He is a special teams stud/2nd-3rd string lb at best. I hope I'm wrong on this one, as I said, I do like him and think he at least can be a stud on special teams and should have a roster spot regardless. Let the yelling begin.

This weekend marks the Lion’s first preseason game of the season, so that means that training camp is in full swing. On Sunday, both practices seemed to be more toned down, as the players were not in pads and the morning session was pretty abbreviated.

Continue reading this post »

I will be attending both practices tomorrow. I'm hoping to get some pictures, possibly some video, and maybe a question or two answered. Either way, I will be writing up a summary of what I observe, and was wondering if anyone had specific things they would like me to look for. We'll, I gotta get to bed, it will be a early morning and quite a trip, but come 9am, I'll be in Allen Park smelling the grass, drinking some kool-aid, and asking myself "why not the Super Bowl?".

Ok, I know selling a rival teams fan tickets could be considered blasphemy, but hear me out. I was planning on attending the season opener at Soldier Field, and since I'm used to Lion's tickets being available the day after the game, I didn't order tickets the second they went on sale a week ago. Well when I looked for tickets the other day, needless to say, the game has sold out. Obviously, there are various outlets on the interweb that will provide me with tickets, but I really don't want to pay $200 for the upper grandstand.

So anyways...if anyone had 2 extra tickets or knew someone/the best place to find 2 extra tickets I would greatly appreciate it.

According to Profootballtalk.com per Adam Caplan of FoxSports.com Isaiah Ekejiuba has signed with the Lions. This move helps to solidify the Lions special teams. Perhaps this move is to allow Follett to focus solely on starting at weakside LB. Or possibly it's meant to focus on our need on special teams, as teams had excellent field position against the Lions on a regular basis.

Bottom line, don't expect him to compete for many valuable snaps at LB but look for him to be a stand-out special teams ace as he has a total of 49 tackles over his 5 seasons with the Raiders, whereas he was a 3rd alternate on special teams for Oakland on the 2009 AFC pro bowl team.

So, I recently started working for Marriott Fairfield Inn, and one benefit is I can get hotel rooms for cheap (around $35 a night if available). I was probably going to stay in a hotel the night before the game, and I was thinking a couple of you may be traveling from a couple of hours away as well and may need a hotel. So if anyone is interested, let me know and I will see what I can do. Can't wait for this game and to meet some of you guys.

According to Killer, Casey Fitzsimmons has announced his retirement today at the age of 29. The concussions that he has suffered throughout his career are noted as the reason for the early retirement.

Pretty sad, as FitzSimmons seemed to thoroughly love the game and was a solid contributor when healthy, wether on offense of special teams. Not too sure what this means for the Lions, as we already have Pettigrew, Heller, and Gronkowski, as well as all of the tight ends we have brought in for looks for the upcoming draft. Perhaps that is why the Lions have been examining these prospects, is because they already knew FitzSimmons was done for.

According to John Niyo's twitter page, Jared DeVries will re-sign with the Lions on Monday. The deal is for one-year, 1.7 million dollars, which is similar to the contract that was terminated by the Lions.

I think this is an excellent move, as DeVries adds veteran leadership and will be solid at depth/rotation for us behind KVB, Avril, and Hunter. Mayhew never ceases to impress me. This would also allow a DE to be picked up in the later rounds of the draft and actually develop and not be rushed into playing.

The more and more I look into this guy, the more I like him. I think he fits Jim Schwartz' mantra of versatile, as he played both FS and SS and rover at Georgia Tech. But he is more of a free safety who can cover slot receivers and cover the deep ball. I think if he slips to us in the 4th round, we'll take him. Walterfootball.com have him as the no. 5 overall safety and draftcountdown.com have him as the no.7 overall safety.

here are some highlights

What if the Lions did something along these lines:

Draft:

1-Ndamukong Suh - DT

2-Jahvid Best - RB

3-Parish Cox or Brandon Ghee

4-John Jerry (if he drops this far)

5-Greg Hardy

7-John Connor

7-Trindon Holliday

After the draft, Jerome Felton is moved to RB, and then John Connor would be our starting FB. Then Jahvid Best would be the main back, with KSmith coming in as a 3rd down back. Our run game would be taken care of, our oline would be stronger, the defensive line would be one of our strongest units, and CB would even be addressed. We even pick up a guy in Holliday that can help us win the field position battle, and allot D. Williams and A. Brown to focus on offense.

Just an idea that the Lions FO could look at. It would make the Connor visit make sense. I don't think they would draft a FB to move Felton to RB and be naive enough to think that our problem is solved on that one move alone. This way we have solid depth as it would be:

Jahvid Best/Kevin Smith/Maurice Morris/Jerome Felton

and then Aaron Brown would continue to come in and play split WR/RB on occasional 1st and 2nd downs.

Ok, here's my first mock draft, but it's not necessarily what I'm predicting will happen, because I honestly think the draft order will change dramatically for us. This is more like a list of players I think will be there when we pick and would fill needs/qualify as bpa as well.

Round 1 - Ndamakong Suh - Between Suh, Hill, and Corey Williams, DT is a strength

Round 2 - Devin McCourty - Would rather have Kyle Wilson, but this is more realistic and McCourty is a solid CB.

Round 3 - Brandon Ghee - Another CB to hopefully shore up our secondary, good size and speed and ball skills.

Round 4 - John Jerry - Instantly come in and start at LG and allow Backus to focus on his job only and could possibly replace Cherilus at RT if Gosder doesn't step up. This or trade for Rob Sims.

Round 5 - Anthony Dixon - may not fall this far, but after watching some film he reminds me of an Adrian Peterson but a little slower. Not a home run hitter like Best/Spiller, but can do it all and is fast enough to out run the secondary...or carry them. Worst case scenario, we have a short-yardage/goal line back that keeps our offense on the field. Then next year we can take a RB in round one or two.

Round 7 - Greg Hardy - Also a bit of wishful thinking, but he's had injury issues, so he could slip to the 7th, if he can get into shape and stay healthy, he could be an everydown RE and allow Avril to be a pass-rush specialist. IF he pans out, our D-line is the strength of our team.

Round 7 - Trindon Holliday - Special teams only, fast as hell and has the ability to go endzone-to-endzone at any time. Could be our solution at KR/PR for years to come.

Not perfect, one or two hopeful players, but our Dline, secondary, Oline, and RB are addressed. I'm sure my opinion will change between now and the draft, and like I said, I think a lot of trades will go down both before and on draft day. I picture us having 10 picks when it's all said and done, with 5 in the first 3 rounds and an extra 5th or 6th round pick. I think if Mayhew can get an extra 2nd and 3rd round pick and stay in the top ten picks, we trade out of the 2nd overall Suh or not.

Wow. I was kinda shocked by this. The Lion's are giving up a 2011 7th round pick for him. This is all from profootballtalk.com.

Solid trade, he'll be a good veteran back up for Stafford and I wouldn't be worried if he had to step into a game.

Once again, kudos to Mayhew.

Also, this means Daunte Culpepper will never wear the Honolulu blue again. I could not be happier. This also means no draft pick used on QB this year.

May get an offer from the Seahawks for Brandon Marshall which would give Denver the Seahawks no.6 overall pick. The Broncos have a serious need at QB, so perhaps we get their two first round picks for our no. 2.

Obviously they could trade with the Buc's since we won't be taking a QB, but I think the Bucs really want Suh or McCoy, where as I think our FA moves are positioning us to be able to drop down and take a BPA.

'I'm so glad he was cut by the Panthers. He is up there on my list of "least favorite players", passed only by the likes of Jared Allen and Bret Favre. He's been mediocre for years and pretty terrible in the last two years. Matt Moore is a better option, and they could pick up any QB in the 2nd round and they will be better.

Now I can use the Panthers on Madden and I have another alternate NFC team.

He's on NFLN crying right now, and he's saying they are joyful tears, but it's more likely that it's because he'll never play again. He's got terrible accuracy and is not a deep threat. Chad Pennington has a stronger arm then DelHomme. He sounds like an alright locker room guy, but that's the only positive I have to say about him.

So, I hope I don't read any posts about how the Lions should pick him up as a veteran back up.

Phillip Buchanon has supposedly been cut according to Profootballtalk.com. I guess I'm kind of disappointed, but more in the sense that I really thought he would come in and be a solid contributor for 2-3 years. I'm glad the Lions aren't accepting mediocre and are willing to accept that it didn't work out.

I guess were going to be targeting CB in free agency and the draft big time now as we pretty much have no one at the position.

Don't get me wrong, I love the occasional mock draft. I check out various draft sites (walterfootball.com and draftcountdown.com to name some) and even like to see what the dynamic duo McShay and Kiper are spouting off about. But I think it's funny how people try so hard to predict the draft, when the prospects completely change between the end of the college season and draft day.

Look at Brandon Graham, he was supposed to be a 2nd or 3rd round pick. But now he's speculated to be in the middle of the 1st AT WORST. But come combine time, he could have a bad week and drop to the 3rd round, or have a great week and solidify a top ten pick. It reminds me of last year, when Michael Oher was the consensus top OT in the draft up until Andre Smith uprooted him. And then following the combine, Andre Smith set off red flags and dropped to the 3rd or 4th round, remember, since Jason Smith and Eugene Monroe where clearly more "sure things". We'll Andre Smith went at no. 7 to Cincy and Oher had to wait for the Ravens at pick no.23. Oher was the only one who actually had a significant this season as well.

Let's not forget the Millens and Al Davis' of the world, who will take DHB ahead of Crabtree and reach for a RT who could've been had in the 2nd round to be the smartest guy in the room.

Like I said, it's a blast making/reading mocks, if not only to learn more about the prospects that are out there and will be making the highlight real for years to come. But I just found the fact that there are many sites in which folks make a living off of "mocking the draft" as if it's an exact science when you actually have a better chance of winning the lotto and retiring than accurately predicting one round of the NFL draft, let alone seven.

me and some friends are going to be at the Cincy game this Sunday, so everyone keep an eye on the tv for what I'm guessing will be the only/large minority of blue in the stadium. It wont be hard to see us if we win, as we will storm the field and attempt to tear down the goal posts. I'm guessing that if the Lions offense can look decent and our special teams show up it will be a good game, as the Bengals seem to never blow teams out and are content with winning by a field goal, so who knows, I smell an upset. GO LIONS!!!!!!

Hey, I'm a Lions fan, as you can tell by the subject. Me and some friends are driving down from West Michigan to attend the game on Sunday (the matchup looked better during the offseason needless to say, ha) and are staying at the Spring Hill Marriot in midtown, and I had a couple of question...

What are the best sports bars/general bars in the area (preferably walking/cab distance)?

Are there any shuttles from the hotel to the game or within the area?

Any other info we should know about downtown would be appreciated, we'll be there Saturday morning through Sunday night, so let me know.

Anyways, thanks in advance and good luck on Sunday, congrats on the great season so far, but  for my sake, I'm hoping theres a speed bump come Sunday.

McCauley was waived by the Vikings yesterday and is a former 3rd round pick in 2007.

This is the first of many waiver wire acquisitions, hopefully. Anything to help out the secondary is a good move in my opinion. Perhaps a trade or two as well as 3-4 more pickups would be awesome. Dline as well as seconday should be top concern. And then maybe look for Oline help with someone like Tony Pashos.

heres a link: Pro Football Talk

Saturday. Culpepper will play a quarter and a half and Stafford will do the same with Stanton playing the 4th quarter. Culpepper and Stafford will both play with the 1st offense with all recieviers rotating in and out. Also, Phillip Buchanon, Anthony Henry, and Dennis Northcutt will sit out. The rest of this story can be found at www.mlive.com/lions.

Essentially, this is the final battle for the starting QB spot, no excuses, both contenders will have a level playing field and will have major weapons with Johnson & Johnson and Pettigrew playing for the first time all preseason. Let's hope they will also have K. Smith so we can see how he does in significant action in the new power running scheme. The only concern is Sims could sit out on defense and with our two starting CB's out, they miss a good opportunity to get better playing against Peyton Manning.

According to John Niyo of the Detroit Free Press, John Thornton has turned down an offer to play for Detroit next year:

" I would probably have to gain weight. That was the situation with Detroit [and] Coach [Jim] Schwartz, who coached me in Tennessee.

"I went up there and we kind of agreed to a deal and a few days later I sort of backed out of it for various reasons," Thornton added.  "I would have had to gain about 20 pounds actually.  He wanted me to be pretty big in the middle, so I would just have to start eating a lot.  I'm in pretty good shape."

"I wouldn't be able to come back right now and play 60 plays, but I don't think anybody can right now."

 It's nice to see that Schwartz is sticking to his "Get Bigger, Get Better" mantra and not bending on it just to get a solid free agent. It's also nice to see a player turn us down for a reason other than "it's the Lions".

Essentially this leaves Kevin Carter or even possibly Simeon Rice to help out our defensive line, unless some players get released during training camp or leading to training camp to make it to 80-players, but obviously these cuts aren't exactly the cream of the crop. Perhaps we could organize another trade before training camp for a solid DT. Only time will tell.

Heres a link to the original article: 

http://www.detnews.com/article/20090713/SPORTS0101/907130368/1265/SPORTS08/Free-agent-says-no-to-Lions

I know alot of people are upset at waiting to draft key defensive players or offensive line, but if you look at the Titans, they are built upon mid-late round picks. On the defense last year in Tennessee they had only 4 1st round picks I believe (Griffin, Haynesworth, Kearse, and Bulluck). And the rest of the players are pretty much 4th round and later.

The same thing can be said about their offense, as the whole line is middle round picks, and only their "flash" positions have 1st round talent.

I think his system relies heavily on successful coaches, to get more from their "value" players than other teams get from their "star" players. If we can pick up some players that will become free agents throughout the remaining offseason that can be solid contributors, then I think Schwartz can his staff can coach them up and create a quality team as opposed to stars.

Then again, I am an optimist, and also understand that this is going to take a couple of years to make us a serious/respectable playoff team every year. I'm not saying that we wont make it to the playoffs this year, because anything is possible, but I figure we gave Millen 8 horrible years, we can give the new guys at least 4.

And one last thing, I think with the coaches we have, Sammie Lee Hill will end up being the next Shaun Rogers, but with a better work ethic and motor. He'll be a cornerstone of our defense along Avril, Sims, and Delmas.

Ok, I don't mind ESPN, even though they seem to be behind on news by about an hour or two to a day or two. Its a nice change from NFL Network so I can get the scoop on all the other sports. But with some of the stuff that their "experts" say is rediculous.

Here's what Eric Allen just said about Eugene Monroe being the best pick in the draft(this is a generalization):

"He's the best because of his motivation and desire to play. He said following bein picked that he just wanted to play, he said he'd be fine to be picked in the 8th round. He even said he's ready to go out and beat Pittsburgh."

doesn't that sound alot like another 1st round LT, Michael Oher. C'mon guys, if you're getting paid, what I assume is a prett nice salary, get your facts straight. The Jags aren't even rivals with the Steelers, so why would that be relevant.

Ok, let me make one thing clear, I totally understand why there are plenty of people upset about this pick. For one, Joey Harrington, for two, Andre Ware, for three, 32nd ranked defense, and for four, 40+ millions dollars.

I wouldn't call myself a 100% Stafford supporter, because honestly, I was going to be happy with Stafford, Curry, or Monroe/Smith. I was leaning more towards Stafford because I've seen him play and he is a playmaker, he reminds me alot of Brett Favre(even though I hate his guts, we are Lions fans afterall). Anyways, as far as the whole "bust" issue is concerned, every player can be a bust, Aaron Curry could have a career ending injury in preseason, he could get into the wrong system and his 1st 3-5 years could be ruined by it and he will be just another MLB.

As far as our defense is concerned, we have no.20 and no.33 to draft for sure starters, and then two 3rd rounders to draft possible starters/excellent depth/2nd-3rd year stars.

And for the huge contract, everyone has to realize that it's not the Lions or Staffords fault, they are just gears in the machine. If you look at Matt Ryans contract from a year ago, you have to assume that any QB take no.3 and higher this year will have a larger contract, since salaries get higher every year. Now add to that the fact that Stafford wasn't no.3, but no.1 and you get the salary he has.

My main point is that I hate seeing Lions fans be so upset and so negative about this decision. We have plenty of opportunities to fill holes in the rest of the draft, along with the fact that our defense has already been imporoved via free agency/trades. The other thing that bugs me is the hypocrisy all the anger. If the Lions pick Curry in this situation and pass Stafford, and Stafford goes on to be the next Elway or Montana, and Curry goes on to be the next Chris Claiborne, then the organization sucks for caving to the fans demands and trying to sell jerseys. People are quick to jump ship(you aren't a fan of the team if you say they will lose every game in 2009 and are the stupidest/worst team in the league and you hate them) and be fair-weather fans or to point the finger when things don't happen the way they would like.

Anyways, I think everyone has the right to say what they want about the matter, but if you were a true fan or even an ok fan, in my opinion, it would sound more like this "man, I wish they would've taken Curry, but they must know something about Stafford that I don't. Let's hope the rest of the draft is defensive minded and it all pans out. LETS GO STAFFORD" and less like this "f!!! mayhew, f!!! schwartz, f!!! stafford, we're doomed and I hate this team and they have down syndrome. Go Pack Go!"

Ok, I've wen't back and forth with what I think the Lions should do with this draft. First off, I've come to the conclusion that I will be happy no matter what picks are made. (well, unless they take Crabtree no.1)

Secondly, the Lions should try to trade down with the no.20 and no.33 picks to get as many 2nd and 3rd round picks as possible, as we can get quality depth and starters with these picks.

As far as draft picks, here is what I've come up with after reading everyones opinions and the millions and millions of mock drafts on here and all over the internet. First, you have to draft a QB no.1, because it's the only place you can realistically get quality at that position, in this draft anyways, so you take Matthew Stafford. Sure, Rhett Bomar could be the next Tom Brady, but unless a team that has a team full of pro-bowlers signs him, he wont be.

The other two picks here, Aaron Curry and Jason Smith, fill positions/areas that can be addressed later with starting calibre players. At no.20 we can take James Laurainitus or Rey Mauauluga to fill our MLB spot, and they have the potential (especially between Julian Peterson and Ernie Sims) to be future pro-bowlers. Then at no.33 you can take Alex Mack/Max Unger/Duke Robinson to beef up the interior line and get us to a point where next year with our 1st pick we can take a LT and solidify our OLine once and for all.

With the remaining picks, you look at all Defense, starting with DT, possibly taking a TE if a quality one falls into your lap.

After the draft, the starting QB would most likely depend on how the offensive line looks. If giving Backus quality help on the left side with say, Duke Robinson solidifies the line, then we could see Stafford starting on day one. But if there is even one concern, then you sit him behind Culpepper and let him learn the ropes and don't put him in until he is set up to succeed.

Our defense will also look 100x's better than it did last  year, so we'll be able to actually win some games. If you look at last year, we could score points, we just couldn't stop the opposition from scoring twice as much.

My point is that we can't put off taking a qb until next year, because we may have the no.10 pick, and the teams ahead of us could take Tebow, McCoy, and Bradford before they fall to us, and those QB's aren't as good/pro ready as Stafford is either in my opinion.

Anyways, thanks for bearing with me through this, if you actually made it this far. I know we're scared of a QB because of Harrington, Ware, and Long, but Stafford is better than all of those players, and we have a competant coaching staff/front office around him, as well as options to start him now or sit him, since I also think that Culpepper is a quality qb if he's in shape and knows the team/playbook.

Ok, I'm going to get a lot of angry looks for this one, but here it goes...If they Lions draft Aaron Curry it will be a bad pick.

No, not Mike Williams,Charles Rogers, or Joey Harrington bad. He will come in and perform and be a playmaker, but with the acquisition of Julian Peterson, our LB corp goes from top priority to 3rd or 4th on the list. If we draft defense, I would rather see B.J. Raji since our Dline looks far worse than our linebackers. The pick I would lean more towards would be E. Monroe or J. Smith as that would help at two spots, LT and G, and our offensive line would pretty much be set.

Another reason I'm against Curry, is that the linebackers available at no.20 or no.33 are better than the offensive linemen. I would rather draft E. Monroe and Rey Maualuga/James Lauarainitus than Aaron Curry and Beatty.

Here's what my draft would look like (1st 5 picks)

1a-J. Smith

1b-Rey Maualuga

2 Robert Ayers

3a- Ron Brace

3b- Best corner available

Then pick up Terrence Taylor in the 6th and a WR/TE.