The Lions will enter the 2024 season with higher expectations than they’ve carried in some time and that’s not a problem for defensive end Aidan Hutchinson.
Hutchinson’s arrival in 2022 coincided with a leap in wins and his strong second season helped fuel last year’s run to the NFC Championship Game. He’s not downplaying his feeling that the team can accomplish even more once they take the field later this year.
“I feel like it’s the year,” Hutchinson said, via Brad Galli of WXYZ. “With every fiber of my body, I feel like it’s the year. Honestly, from this year on, every year is the year. With the guys that we have, I hope that we’re going to sustain the success for a long time.”
The Lions appear to share Hutchinson’s view of the future after signing quarterback Jared Goff, wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, and tackle Penei Sewell to extensions this offseason. Hutchinson will be up for a new deal of his own soon enough and another winning season will continue to have the Lions feeling good about keeping the band together.
The Lions will host several opportunities for fans to see the club practice later this summer.
Detroit announced on Tuesday that the club will have six open training camp practices, with another three sessions exclusively for Lions Loyal members.
The first practice for Lions Loyal members is set for Saturday, July 27 and the first session open to the public is on Monday, July 29.
While training camp practices are free to attend, fans will need to register for a ticket on the Lions’ website. Registration is limited to four tickets per person. Sign-ups will begin on July 16.
Members of the Lions Loyal program will receive separate information on how to claim their training camp tickets starting on July 9.
As a rookie last season, Lions cornerback Brian Branch made an immediate impact as a nickel cornerback. He started nine of the 15 games he played in, and was on the field for about three-quarters of the Lions’ defensive snaps. But this year, the Lions want more.
Lions defensive assistant Jim O’Neil says Branch can get more playing time, and if he’s healthy could be on the field for close to 100 percent of snaps.
“Last year they were a little more hesitant with BB to just kind of fix him at one spot. Now that he’s going into Year 2, I think we’ll be more aggressive with him,” O’Neil said, via the team’s website. He’s the type of player you want to see out there on all three downs, so we’re going to push him to that. At the end of the day, he still has to come out in training camp, and he has to take that job.”
Training camp will be a big opportunity for Branch to prove he belongs as one of the 11 Lions who’s on the field every defensive snap.
“In the role he had last year I thought he played really well as a rookie,” O’Neil said. “Now it’s, can he make the next jump as a second-year player and can he make the next jump maybe just being fixed as a safety or maybe being a safety and a nickel? That’s all things we’re going to figure out in training camp.”
After one of the best seasons in franchise history last year, the Lions believe they have a young nucleus of players who can sustain that success for years to come. They expect Branch to be a big part of it.
Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders announced Friday that he experienced a health scare last weekend. He did not provide details beyond that it was heart-related.
Sanders, who turns 56 next month, made an appearance at the NFL draft in Detroit in April.
“Over Father’s Day weekend, I experienced a health scare related to my heart,” Sanders wrote on his social media. “It was unexpected and served as a reminder of the importance of staying vigilant about our physical well-being, even when we are feeling fine.
“I am grateful for the amazing doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals for providing me with needed care. My family and I are thankful for your prayers and support during this time.
“Per my doctors’ recommendation, I am taking his opportunity to prioritize my health and well-being. I appreciate your understanding and continued support.”
The Lions’ official X account responded by sending get-well wishes to Sanders, who rushed for 15,269 yards in 10 seasons with them.
Green Bay’s kicking competition is back up to three entrants.
Per Mike Garafolo of NFL Media, the Packers have claimed James Turner off of waivers after he was cut by the Lions.
Turner, 23, just entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Michigan. He spent just one season with the Wolverines, previously kicking for Louisville from 2019-2022.
Turner connected on 18-of-21 field goal attempts in 2023 and also set a single-season Michigan program record with 65 successful PATs.
The Packers previously waived kicker Jack Podlesny on Wednesday.
Anders Carlson and Greg Joseph are also on Green Bay’s roster at kicker.
Lions kicker James Turner has lost his job after the UFL star Jake Bates arrived.
The Lions announced today that Bates has officially signed, and Turner has been released.
Bates was kicking for the Michigan Panthers on the Lions’ home field this season and made three field goals of 60 yards or longer. Bates’ accuracy hasn’t been great, but his leg strength is extremely impressive.
The Lions’ incumbent kicker, Michael Badgley, will compete with Bates for the kicking job in Detroit this season.
UFL kicker Jake Bates won’t have to travel far for his next job.
Bates, who spent the 2024 spring season with the Michigan Panthers, will sign next week with the Lions, per multiple reports.
During his time with the Panthers, Bates made three field goals of 60 yards or longer, including a 64-yarder.
For the year, he made only 17 of 22 field goals, an average success rate of 77.3 percent.
The 64-yard kick was a Week 1 game winner over St. Louis, at Ford Field. All three of his 60-plus kicks were made at the stadium where the Lions play their home games.
The Lions currently have two kickers on the roster — Michael Badgley and James Turner.
In seven total games with the Lions last season, Badgley was four-for-four in field goals and 24-for-26 in extra points. He was a perfect 14-for-14 on all kicks during the postseason.
The Lions have wrapped up their draft pick signings.
Cornerback Terrion Arnold was the only unsigned member of the class and the Lions announced his signing on Thursday. The first-round pick signed a four-year deal and the Lions have an option for a fifth season.
Arnold was a two-year starter at Alabama. He had 108 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, a sack, six interceptions and a fumble recovery in 25 games for the Crimson Tide.
The Arnold pick was one of several moves the Lions made at cornerback this offseason. They also traded for Carlton Davis and used a second-round pick to add Ennis Rakestraw to the new-look group.
The Chargers have a head coach who likes to attack each day with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind. Not surprisingly, he’s had his team attacking the offseason that way, too.
Appearing on Jim Rome’s show, veteran edge rusher Joey Bosa described the overall atmosphere during the OTA process.
“We’re locked in,” Bosa said. “Everybody’s really on the details. It’s been real serious. You know, it’s been a pretty intense OTAs for what I’ve went through the last so many years. We’ve been getting a lot of reps in. Really competing out there. So I think the vibe is really good.”
At the risk of being labeled a snitch, does anyone think the Chargers have been competing without contact? Every team has contact. Some teams get busted for it, like the Lions last week.
Given the NFL Players Association’s reported plan to propose dramatic changes to the offseason program, the union should be aggressively enforcing the rules. Frankly, any such witch hunt would likely result in the detection of 30 or more witches.
Tyreek Hill set his sights on Calvin Johnson’s single-season receiving record before the 2023 season. He was ahead of Johnson’s pace for most of the season until an ankle injury held him to four catches for 61 yards against the Titans in Week 14 and kept him out Week 15.
His 1,799 yards led the league but fell 165 short of Johnson’s record.
Johnson caught 122 passes in 16 games when he set the 1,964-yard mark in 2012. Jerry Rice’s 1995 record of 1,848 yards had stood for 17 years before that.
The Hall of Famer knows it’s only a matter of time before someone tops his record.
“I mean, it’s bound to fall at some point the way it’s going, so it is what it is,” Johnson told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “I held it down, I don’t know even know how long, over a decade now.”
Rams receiver Cooper Kupp has come the closest in the 17-game era, going for 1,947 yards in 17 games in 2021.
Staying healthy in a 17-game season is the challenge, as Hill found out last year.
“They want more offense, man, so at some point [it’s going to happen],” Johnson said. “You’ve got to be healthy. You’ve got to play really a full 17 now. . . . That’s the key. You got to be healthy. If you can play 17, guys have put up numbers; you’re going to put up numbers. That 17, you get that extra game to put another 150 or 200 [yards].”