Lions News

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Freep is late with this news, but I'm posting it anyway:



Romeo Okwara takes huge pay cut; Detroit Lions pouring cap savings into defense

Dave Birkett

Detroit Free Press



The Detroit Lions are taking from their past free agent failures to pay for this year’s class.

Romeo Okwara agreed to a massive pay cut to stay with the Lions in 2023, reducing his base salary from $11 million to $2 million next season in a move that creates nearly $9 million in cap space.

Okwara signed a three-year, $39 million deal with the Lions in 2021, coming off a career-high 10-sack season, but has played just nine games since. Okwara ruptured his Achilles tendon early in the 2022 season and did not return until mid-December last year, when he had two sacks among eight tackles in the final five games while playing as a rotational pass rusher behind Aidan Hutchinson, James Houston, John Cominsky and Josh Paschal.




Under his new contract, Okwara can earn up to another $500,000 in per-game roster bonuses, according to OverTheCap.com.


In total, the Lions have created nearly $22 million in cap space this spring, which they've used to fund upgrades for their defense, by restructuring the contracts of veteran pass rushers Okwara and Charles Harris and cutting defensive lineman Michael Brockers.




Harris took a $3 million pay cut at the start of free agency, reducing his scheduled $6 million base salary by half, to free up nearly $3 million in cap space.

Harris, who signed a two-year, $13 million deal with the Lions last spring after a breakout 7.5-sack season in 2021, can earn up to $250,000 more in per-game roster bonuses, according to OverTheCap.com.




Before free agency, the Lions released Brockers in a move that freed up $10 million in cap room.

The Lions have been active in free agency so far this offseason, adding three potential starters to their secondary in cornerbacks Cam Sutton and Emmanuel Moseley and safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, re-signing defensive starters Alex Anzalone and Isaiah Buggs, and adding running back David Montgomery and offensive lineman Graham Glasgow.





Sutton has a cap hit of $3.28 million next season, Montgomery will count $2.85 million against the cap in 2023 and Anzalone and Buggs have combined cap hits of $4.2 million, while the contracts for Moseley (one-year, up to $6 million), Gardner-Johnson (one year, up to $8 million) and Glasgow (one year, up to $4.5 million) have not been filed with the NFL Players Association.

The Lions entered Monday with $19.8 million in cap space for 2023, according to the NFLPA and not including deals for Moseley, Gardner-Johnson, Glasgow, special teams standout CJ Moore and kicker Michael Badgley.



The team still has a contractual decision to make on guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai, who is due $9.4 million this fall after missing all of last season with a back injury.

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

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Article broken into 4 parts.


Detroit Lions 2023 NFL free agency grades and reaction: Thumbs up or thumbs down?

Marlowe Alter

Detroit Free Press



The Detroit Lions are through the first week of NFL free agency 2023, having made five new additions to the team: Defensive backs C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Cam Sutton and Emmanuel Moseley, running back David Montgomery, and guard Graham Glasgow.

They've also lost four free agents as of Monday morning, including three starters and a top special teams contributor: RB Jamaal Williams (New Orleans), OL Evan Brown (Seattle), S DeShon Elliott (Miami) and LB Chris Board (New England).

Their top unrestricted free agent, receiver DJ Chark, remains on the market.

Let's look at what people are saying about the Lions' moves thus far:




A late-night surprise


CBS Sports: A for C.J. Gardner-Johnson addition


The Lions late Sunday night infused the defense with one of the top free agents to hit the market this March, grabbing the languishing Chauncey Gardner-Johnson and agreeing to a one-year, $8 million contract with the former Philadelphia Eagle.


CBS' Tyler Sullivan, like many others, was all-in on the short-term "prove it" move for a player who tied for the NFL-lead with six interceptions last season in just 12 games, and praised the value the Lions got him for at a reported $6.5 million fully guaranteed.

CGJ, 25, can play both as a free safety, in the box or as a nickel cornerback, and there is confidence he will be used correctly because of the relationship formed with the New Orleans Saints, where CGJ played with Dan Campbell and Aaron Glenn on the coaching staff.

"Gardner-Johnson plays a physical brand of football and fits into the culture that Campbell has been working to foster over the past two years," Sullivan wrote, while giving the move an A grade.

The Lions have suddenly completely overhauled arguably the NFL's worst secondary, and now have signed three new additions with Gardner-Johnson, Sutton and Moseley.



They also brought back nickel/safety Will Harris, who now provides depth instead of being at the top of the depth chart, and also have holdovers Jeff Okudah and Jerry Jacobs at cornerback. (Yes, this is a gigantic year fourth year for Okudah upcoming, after he struggled down the stretch last season and was benched).

At safety, Garnder-Johnson likely teams with intriguing second-year player Kerby Joseph, while Tracy Walker rehabs from a torn Achilles.


We'll see how all the pieces begin to fit this summer, but credit general manager Brad Holmes and his staff for identifying the weakness and attacking it the past seven days, all without committing astronomical long-term salary. They will maintain flexibility here after next season too.




The running back decision


ESPN: C- for Lions, C for Saints


"This is going to sound harsh, but I don't think paying Montgomery is a particularly efficient use of resources."

That is how Seth Walder of ESPN led his analysis of the Lions signing Montgomery to a mid-tier contract (three years and $18 million, $11 million guaranteed) to be their new physical ball-carrier en route to a C- grade.


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Walder extoled Montgomery's pass blocking and acknowledged his receiving production, but outlined why Montgomery is a replacement-level runner.

Montgomery's rush yards over expectation per carry, "an NFL Next Gen Stats metric that measures performance relative to expectation based on the positioning and movement of all 22 players at the time of handoff," was -0.1 in 2019; +0.5 in 2020; -0.1 in both 2021 and 2022.


Essentially, he rushed for fewer yards per carry than expected in three of the past four seasons. And Walder drives home the point by illuminating that Montgomery's teammate, Khalil Herbert, "led all running backs with 100-plus carries in rush yards over expectation per carry at 1.4 last season."

His point: "In the NFL, you can basically find Montgomery's level of rusher anywhere, and you don't need to pay for it."

On the other end, Walder gave the Saints a C grade for giving Williams a three-year $12 million contract with $8 million guaranteed.

"His rush yards over expectation per carry has hovered between minus-0.3 and 0.2 in every season of his career, per NFL Next Gen Stats," Walder wrote. "And rushers who merely meet expectation are easy to find. It's not a skill that teams need to pay for, even considering how cheap this deal comes in."



NFL.com: A 'head-scratcher'

NFL.com's Cynthia Frelund, an Okemos native and Lions fan, also questions the bucks given to Montgomery by Holmes and company, naming it one of her three "head-scratchers", and comparing the contract to Williams, after his 17 total touchdowns last season got him less money.

"The running back market was flooded in early free agency, and perhaps the Lions could have gotten more for their investment (or had to invest less) had they waited to sign one," Frelund wrote.



Sports Illustrated: Lions among 'Losers'


SI's Conor Orr listed the Lions as one of the "losers" of his free agency (before the Gardner-Johnson signing), and also didn't understand the swap at running back and mentioned the outward passion and leadership we all saw from Williams both on "Hard Knocks" and during the season.

"Am I the only one who thought losing Jamaal Williams was unnecessary? Dan Campbell understands better than anyone what individual player fire can bring to the table. And while Williams’s camera-worthy moments from 2022 could have been simply performative, he was everywhere, breaking down every huddle and serving as the bleeding heart of a plucky football team. Plus, he scored 17 rushing touchdowns. That wasn’t worth the $8 million in guarantees he fetched in New Orleans?"


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Sporting News: Lions are a 'Winner'



Hold on: Vinnie Iyer of SN disagrees with the others, and explains why.

"The Lions needed a more durable workhorse-type back behind their strong offensive line and David Montgomery, the former Bear, provides that. They also made calculated moves to improve their secondary."

Iyer also gave the Montgomery move an A because he provides a touch more versatility than Williams in terms of power running, and as a receiver can help minimize the durability and trust issues of D'Andre Swift.




The cornerbacks



ESPN: Sutton deal gets B+



Walder graded the deal for the 28-year-old Sutton, whose 0.8 yards allowed per coverage snap ranked eighth for outside cornerbacks in 2022, as a B+.

The Lions, instead of targeting a player at the top of the market, paid a good player a hefty but not cap-strapping number ($33 million total over three years, $22.5 million guaranteed). And that's part of the reason Walder likes the contract-player match.


Sutton struggled in 2021 with a passer rating allowed of 104.9 when targeted, per Pro Football Reference. But he limited QBs to a 65.3 passer rating last season.

"It's always scary paying corners because of how up-and-down they can be from year to year, and Sutton's yards per coverage snap allowed in 2021 was 1.1, which was league average. But Detroit is not paying him like a top-flight corner, so this is a good deal."




NFL.com: 'Love the fit'



Frelund named the Sutton move as one of her four "love the fit" moves, citing the Steelers and Lions played man at similar rates last season — which better projects his role and value — and his success according to two key Next Gen Stats categories.

He ranked as the third-best outside corner in "receptions over expected allowed (-9.5) and ballhawk rate (20.8%). Though he was part of a Steelers secondary that had some challenges as a unit, Sutton allowed just 411 total yards in coverage, according to PFF (Pro Football Focus), which ranked fifth-best among corners who logged at least 400 coverage snaps," Frelund wrote.


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CBS Sports: A+ for Moseley; B- for Sutton


The rare A+ was doled out by CBS' Tyler Sullivan — it was the only such grade he gave out among the 45 signings he analyzed — and even rarer that it was given to the Lions. So, why the love for a player he labeled "an excellent find"? Well, the numbers back him up.


"He's an excellent cover corner," Sullivan wrote. "He allowed a 43.6 passer rating in his five starts last season, with no touchdown passes allowed. Just 26, Moseley has allowed only one touchdown over the past two seasons with a passer rating of 63.2."

He gave the Sutton signing a B-.



Pro Football Focus: A- for Moseley; secondary gets 'most improved'


Pro Football Focus loved the Lions' signing of Moseley (one-year, $6 million), grading it an A- as "a smart buy-low decision ... on a player who started off the 2022 season strong, earning a career-high 73.5 coverage grade through Week 5, before tearing his ACL leading up to Week 6."

PFF also named the Lions' secondary among the six most improved position groups after grabbing Moseley and Sutton. It likes they can now draft the best player available at Nos. 6 and 18 overall, "rather than chase the need to fill a weak spot," analyst Sam Monson wrote. "Moseley has allowed a passer rating of 82.8 into his coverage for his entire career and Sutton has multiple seasons with an above-average PFF coverage grade playing both outside and in the slot."

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1st of 3 articles to be posted in the next few minutes.





Detroit Lions sign Jake McQuaide, have long snapper competition in the works

Dave Birkett


Detroit Free Press


The Detroit Lions could have a competition brewing at long snapper.

The Lions signed Pro Bowl long snapper Jake McQuaide to a one-year contract Monday.

McQuaide, 35, spent 10 seasons with the Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams during Lions general manager Brad Holmes' tenure with the team, before joining the Dallas Cowboys in 2021. He made Pro Bowls with the Rams in 2016-17 and played 21 games with the Cowboys the past two seasons before suffering a torn triceps in October.




The Lions re-signed Scott Daly to an exclusive rights free agent contract last week.



Daly has handled long-snapping duties the past two seasons, but was inconsistent last year. He had low snaps on punts in three consecutive weeks in the middle of the season against the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers, and another late in the season against the Jacksonville Jaguars.



Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

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Lions special-teams maven C.J. Moore returns after offer from Patriots; Badgley makes an impression


Justin Rogers


The Detroit News



Allen Park — Bill Belichick, one of, if not the greatest coach in NFL history, has always put a premium on special teams. So, when a primarily special-teams performer gets a call from the Patriots in free agency, it's noteworthy.

Belichick's Patriots poached one of the Detroit Lions' top special-teamers last week, signing free-agent linebacker Chris Board. And they nearly snagged a second, hosting safety C.J. Moore for a visit and extending a contract offer, before the Lions came over the top to beat the offer with a two-year pact that included more than $3 million in guarantees.

The entire process, from being considered by New England to re-signing with Detroit, has been an overwhelming experience for Moore.




"My twin brother who plays ball in Tennessee, he mentioned, 'See, that’s something to say, that these guys are bringing you in,'" Moore said about the Patriots' interest. "That's coach Bill. Special teams kinda started over there with him.' That really meant a lot. I kinda gave myself a little pat on the shoulder for a quick second, but I just want to get back to work and bring it even higher. There're so many more goals to reach. I'm just excited about it.




"...Getting that call from my agency, I thought it was going to be about that (Patriots offer), but then he said Detroit," Moore said. "I was like so thankful and grateful. It freakin’ brought tears to my eyes. Just coming back home, man. This is home."

Since Moore signed with the Lions as an undrafted rookie out of Mississippi in 2019, no one on the team has logged more special-teams snaps than Moore's 1,078.



And although he owed it to himself to explore his value on the open market, including taking that visit to New England, Moore is thrilled the Lions made the best offer.

"Man, I just felt like myself and the culture that Coach Dan (Campbell) and (general manager) Brad (Holmes) and (owner) Ms. Sheila (Hamp) have built here, it just fits so perfectly," Moore said. "It’s gritty. It’s not for everybody. Everybody can’t come to Detroit. You just have to be ready for something like that. I think that’s who I am. And that’s why we’re building something special here."




Badgley ready to compete



The Lions also brought back kicker Michael Badgley over the weekend, giving him a new, one-year deal that includes $350,000 in guarantees.

Badgley performed well in a 12-game stint with the Lions after signing with the team in October, making 20 of 24 field-goal attempts. That was better than his career conversion rate of 81.7%.



"I think maybe just the way meshing with the locker room, the staff, the entire organization, just kinda meant something different to these guys," Badgley said about his ability to quickly adjust to his new surroundings. "And having a guy like coach Campbell at the forefront makes it that much more fun. Yeah, I think being able to work with (punter) Jack (Fox) and (snapper) Scott Daly, that definitely made it a lot easier. Coming in just having fun with it and playing the way this entire team does, I think that was just making it easier."

Badgley's contract gives him frontrunner status on the job in 2023, but there aren't enough guarantees in the contract to suggest he's a lock. Two years ago, the team awarded veteran free agent Randy Bullock more than double those guarantees, but didn't hesitate to cut him after training camp, when it was clear he wasn't the best option.

Badgley said the Lions haven't talked to him about competing for the job, but the veteran kicker embraces a challenger being added to the roster this offseason.




"I don't know what they're going to do," Badgley said. "But, I do know I have always believed that competition brings out the best in everybody. I'll just leave it at that."



Long-snapping battle


Daly has handled the long snapping duties in Detroit the past two seasons, after beating out the legendary Don Muhlbach for the job in 2021. But, Daly will face some stiff competition from a veteran this offseason after the Lions reportedly agreed to terms with two-time Pro Bowler Jake McQuaide.

A 12-year veteran, McQuaide spent the majority of his career with the Rams before playing the past two seasons with the Cowboys.



jdrogers@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @Justin_Rogers

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'Emotional ties' helped bring Graham Glasgow back to the Lions

Justin Rogers

The Detroit News



Allen Park — Graham Glasgow has no problem admitting he was bitter about the way his first run with the Detroit Lions came to an end. But, those feelings didn't last long, and when the Denver Broncos released him this offseason, Glasgow asked his agent to gauge whether Detroit was keen on a reunion.

As it turns out, the interest was mutual, so after three seasons in Denver, Glasgow is back with the Lions — and he couldn't be happier.

A lot changes with an NFL team in four years. The Lions have a new coach and front-office leadership, and most of the roster has turned over, as well. But, there's still familiarity in the surroundings, and in the offensive-line room, where Glasgow will reconnect with former roommate Taylor Decker, Pro-Bowl center Frank Ragnow and position coach Hank Fraley, who had been the assistant position coach when Glasgow last played for the Lions.

Arguably, the biggest change since those days is the mood and energy in the building.






"The demeanor is fantastic," Glasgow said Monday. "It seems like a lot of the coaches that I've talked to so far, guys who I've known in the past and guys who I have worked with, it seems like we've got a lot of straight-shooters here in the coaching staff. It just seems like the overall culture that they have comes down to the locker room; it's good."



A third-round pick out of Michigan in 2016, Glasgow was a four-year starter at three different positions for the Lions. But, as he marched toward the expiration of that rookie deal, the former coaching staff made the decision to enter him in an unorthodox playing-time rotation — which, in hindsight, remains inexplicable. It soured the end of his time here, and instead of staying in Detroit, which was the initial hope, he jumped on a four-year, $44 million offer from the Broncos.

When the Lions drafted Glasgow, it was the initial wave of the offensive line's reconstruction. He came in with Decker and former starting guard Joe Dahl. Ragnow was added to the mix two years later. In recent years, the team has continued to build and solidify the unit, adding two more Pro Bowlers via the draft, in Jonah Jackson and Penei Sewell. The only question mark is Glasgow's old spot at right guard, which was supposed to be manned by his replacement, Halapoulivaait Vaitai.





Vaitai remains under contract in Detroit, although his roster spot feels tenuous, at best, after he missed the entire 2022 campaign because of a back injury. Regardless of what happens there, Glasgow said he's not expected to be handed his old job.





"The expectation is to come in and compete for a job," Glasgow said. "I mean, I’ve done it before, and it’s something I’m not opposed to. I’ve competed for a job here in the past. How do I answer this? The game is very humbling and I find that being able to have an opportunity to come back to the place where I have emotional ties and even some physical ties, to be able to come back and be a part of something special is important to me."






Glasgow also got interest from Carolina and San Francisco, but Michigan holds a special place in his heart. He played college football here, started his professional career here, met his wife here, and it's home of Zingerman's bakery, the food he misses most when away.

He missed the people, too. So, getting an opportunity to reunite with friends in pursuit of success for a franchise that has lacked it for so long, what more could Glasgow ask for?






"Well, I mean, when I was looking for places to go, that was something that was really enticing to me, just seeing how good they've been so far," Glasgow said. "You don't get many opportunities to go join a place that already has a very well-established line, and I think that was, as I said, appealing to me.

"...To play with Taylor, to play with Frank, it just came down to I wanted to be a part of that O-line room," Glasgow said. "I wanted to be back with my buddies. And I wanted to be a part of this team."

jdrogers@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @Justin_Rogers

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C.J. Gardner-Johnson on leaving Eagles: It is what it is, trying to win games with Lions now

Posted by Josh Alper on March 20, 2023, 1:22 PM EDT

Getty Images

Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s time as a free agent came to an end on Monday when he signed a one-year deal with the Lions and that outcome wasn’t what many people expected heading into the new league year.

Gardner-Johnson was seen as one of the top safeties on the market, but interest in his services didn’t materialize as he seemed to hope. Gardner-Johnson posted and then quickly deleted a tweet to that effect last week and word on Monday was that he passed on a longer deal to remain with the Eagles because he thought there would be more fervent bidding for his services.

During a press conference announcing his deal with the Lions, Gardner-Johnson said he doesn’t want to dwell on the past.

“I have no bad blood,” Gardner-Johnson said, via Zach Berman of TheAthletic.com. “People overreact to a tweet in free agency. But it was never disrespectful to the organization. Organization treated me like family. It’s just, gotta do what’s best for your family. . . . It is what it is. Past is the past. I’m here now. Brand new team, new city. Trying to win some games.”

Gardner-Johnson is set to be back on the market again next year and a successful season with the Lions could set him up for a happier ending at that point.

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They need to stop painting Okwara as some kind of "hero" doing the team a solid by taking a $9 million "pay cut". His choice wasn't between a $11 million salary vs. a $2 million salary (with game bonuses), it was between $0 by being cut and maybe reupping somewhere else vs. $2 million plus game bonuses.

Yes, he did save the Lions some cap by "renegotiating" but his options, after being injured for the better part of the last two years, were limited.

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C.J. Gardner-Johnson: Detroit Lions roster 'a little bit better' than Eagles' Super Bowl team

Dave Birkett

Detroit Free Press




The Detroit Lions swooped in and signed the newest big-name addition to their secondary seemingly out of nowhere, but the wooing of C.J. Gardner-Johnson started long ago.

Gardner-Johnson said at his introductory news conference Monday that his relationship with Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn dates to when he was a top high school recruit in 2015.

Gardner-Johnson was taking part in The Opening, a Nike recruiting event, when Glenn served as his position coach. The two hit it off, stayed in contact during Gardner-Johnson’s college days at Florida, and four years later, the New Orleans Saints drafted Gardner-Johnson at the behest of Glenn, their then-secondary coach.



Gardner-Johnson played in sub packages as a rookie and eventually took over as the Saints’ slot cornerback. On Monday, he recalled something Glenn told him that season, that “by the time I get you again and where I’m going to be at, you’ll be exactly what I need you to be.”





“It’s like a father-son relationship,” Gardner-Johnson said. “So I think me growing as a player, as a man, understanding how to get better from Year 1 to Year 4 maturing, I think that’s what really brought me here, bringing me back to the roots so I can understand like I don’t get too up, I stay grounded and continue to work.”

Gardner-Johnson signed a one-year deal worth up to $8 million Monday to be exactly what Glenn needs in the Lions’ revamped secondary.





A do-it-all defensive back who played most of his three seasons with the Saints at slot cornerback, Gardner-Johnson emerged as one of the best safeties in the NFL last season after being traded to the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles.

He tied for the league lead with six interceptions, made a career-high 67 tackles and was considered one of the top defensive backs in free agency.

Gardner-Johnson said his familiarity with Glenn and Lions head coach Dan Campbell, another ex-Saints assistant, made the decision to sign with the Lions an easy one after contract talks broke down with the Eagles.





The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the Eagles offered Gardner-Johnson a multi-year deal to return before the start of free agency, then pulled that deal after re-signing cornerback James Bradberry and extending cornerback Darius Slay.

Universal Sports Management, the agency that represents Gardner-Johnson, tweeted Monday, in apparent reference to the report, that a one-year, $8 million deal trumps a three-year, $24 million deal with most of that money ($17 million plus) coming in Year 3.



“It is what it is,” Gardner-Johnson said. “The past is the past. I’m here now with a brand new team and city, ready to win some games.”



Gardner-Johnson said he doesn’t need the Eagles’ about-face as motivation — free agency “felt like a draft day all over again, truthfully,” he said — and he insisted he has no hard feelings towards an organization that gave him one of the greatest thrills of his professional career.







“We went to the Super Bowl,” Gardner-Johnson said. “I mean, obviously we didn’t win it, but the experience that I had, I don’t have any bad blood. I mean, people overreact to a tweet in free agency but it was never disrespectful to the organization. The organization was like family, it’s just you got to do what’s best for your family, that’s all it is.”

As one of the most experienced hands in the Lions’ revamped but still young secondary — the Lions added projected starting cornerbacks Cam Sutton and Emmanuel Moseley in free agency, return safeties Kerby Joseph and Tracy Walker and still have young cornerbacks Jerry Jacobs and Jeff Okudah on their roster — Gardner-Johnson will take on more of a leadership role this fall, something he said is the next step in his career.

On the field, he could play either slot cornerback or safety, depending on Joseph’s development and the return of Walker from a torn Achilles.






And he said he sees similarities between this Lions team and the Eagles one that went to the Super Bowl, but that Detroit has “a little bit better” talent than what he played with in Philadelphia last year.

“But that’s just on me, from the outside looking in,” Gardner-Johnson said. “But this team has talent. This team, we can win the division, like possibly win the division. Everybody should feel that way, but when I look at a team coming from where I came from, the teams I played on, won multiple divisions, been in playoff games, been to the Super Bowl, this team has what it takes to be a divisional (champ), get there, win the division, get to the playoffs. But it’s got to start with what’s your identity, who are you, and I think that’s going to start when we get back with each other on the mandatory date, to kick in.”


Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

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Lions' C.J. Gardner-Johnson helps usher in revamped corps of defensive backs

Justin Rogers

The Detroit News




Allen Park — The first time Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson crossed paths was 2016, at Nike's "The Opening" football camp for the nation's elite skill-position players. Glenn, who was early in his coaching career, was there to work with the cornerbacks at the camp, while Garner-Johnson was bound for Florida to begin his college career.



Three years later, the two connected again when the New Orleans Saints drafted Johnson in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL draft. Glenn was entering his fourth season as the franchise's defensive backs coach, but instead of having a few days to spend with Gardner-Johnson, the coach had two years to develop the young defender.



Now, their paths converge again, this time in Detroit, where Glenn will lean on a more experienced, more mature Gardner-Johnson to help lead a secondary that's been overhauled and upgraded in free agency.




"It's like a father-son relationship," Gardner-Johnson said. "When I mess up, even when I wasn't playing with him, I'd mess up and I would text him like, 'Did you see it? Did you not see it?' Because it was like, (you) don't want to let somebody down who actually is there to help you.



"...I remember him telling me, 'By the time I get you again, where I'm going to be at, you're going to be exactly where I need you to be," Gardner-Johnson continued. " I think me, growing as a player and as a man, understanding how to get better from Year 1 to Year 4, maturing, I think that's what really brought me here, back to my roots."



Gardner-Johnson is only 25 years old, another young piece on a decidedly young roster. But, with more than 2,700 snaps under his belt, as well as seven playoff games, he brings a wealth of experience.



On top of that, he's played alongside outstanding veterans throughout his career. From Marcus Williams, Von Bell and Marshon Lattimore in New Orleans to Darius Slay and James Bradberry in Philadelphia. And then there's the team success, which includes four winning seasons out of five, three division titles and the Super Bowl appearance with the Eagles last year. It's all of that knowledge he's looking to bring to Detroit and share with his new teammates.



"Everybody's young," Gardner-Johnson said. "I'm young. I'm only five years in, but being around the veteran presence helps me understand how to become a leader. I think that's what they brought me here for, and I think that's the next step for me. It's not (just) football anymore. It's about being a better person, better teammate for the next person."



On the field, Gardner-Johnson also brings coveted versatility and playmaking. In just 12 games with the Eagles last season, he tied for the NFL lead with six interceptions, giving him nine picks across the past two years. He's shown the ability to play both as a slot cornerback, where he saw most of his work in his three seasons in New Orleans, as well as deep safety, which was the preferred alignment in which he was deployed by the Eagles.

Asked how he views himself in Detroit, Gardner-Johnson smiled and said, "Him," the slang term stemming from a 2019 R&B song, which declares you're the guy who can do anything that's asked.




"I just feel like when you get the chance to do multiple things, you’re not limited to one; you can just really express your football personality more than talk about what you can do," Gardner-Johnson said. "So, I think (if) I got the chance to go play nickel, I’m gonna dominate nickel. (If) I got a chance to go play safety, I’m going to dominate safety. So, I think no matter where you put me, it’s going down all game."

Gardner-Johnson got an up-close look at the Lions last season, when the two teams played in the first week. He was impressed by the team's grit and fight. Within that, he's hoping to hammer home the value of consistency. He's learned through the early stages of his career that the chances for success increase when you take the same approach, day in and day out, season after season.

And, as mentioned, he knows what winning football looks like. It's almost all he's known since coming into the league. He understands the talent it takes to get to the top of the mountain, and he's convinced his new team has what it takes to make that climb.





"To be honest with you, a little bit better," Gardner-Johnson said, when asked to compare his first impression of Detroit's talent to Philadelphia's, when he arrived there via a trade last year. "...This team, we can win a division. Everybody should feel that way. But, when I look at the team, coming from where I came from, all the teams I've played on, won multiple divisions, been to playoff games, been to the Super Bowl, this team has what it takes to win a division, you know what I'm saying, get there, win a division, get to the playoffs. But, it's gotta start with what's your identity? Who are you?"


jdrogers@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @Justin_Rogers

[whatever_gong82]

Bitter how first Detroit Lions tenure ended, Graham Glasgow thankful for reunion

Dave Birkett

Detroit Free Press


When Graham Glasgow was released by the Denver Broncos last week, he told his agent to check with one team in particular to gauge their interest in his services — the Detroit Lions.

Glasgow played his first four NFL seasons in Detroit, went to school at Michigan and has some of his best friends in football still on the team.

He and Taylor Decker were a part of the same Lions draft class in 2016, and he and Frank Ragnow remain tight from their two seasons together in Detroit.

Glasgow left the Lions under strained circumstances in 2020. He wanted to return; organizational leadership at the time did not believe in paying offensive guards; and after weirdly playing Glasgow as part of guard platoon in his final season, the Lions let him walk without making him a competitive offer in free agency.



“I was bitter, yeah,” Glasgow admitted Monday. “But I got over that relatively quickly.”





The Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers made overtures at Glasgow last week, but once the Lions indicated there was mutual interest in a return, the only thing left to hash out was the numbers.

On Monday, Glasgow officially signed a one-year contract that could reach $4.5 million with incentives, bringing his NFL career full circle at a place he still considers home.






“(I wanted) to play with some of my friends, to play with Taylor, play with Frank,” Glasgow said. “It just came down to like, I wanted to be a part of that O-line room, I wanted to be back with my buddies and I wanted to be a part of this team.”

This year’s Lions look nothing like the 2019 version that went 3-12-1 in the last season of Glasgow’s first tenure in Detroit.


Decker, Ragnow and Tracy Walker are the only starters left from the final game that season. The Lions won as many games under Dan Campbell last year (nine) as they did in Glasgow’s final two seasons in Detroit combined. And Campbell has brought with him a new vibe that Glasgow said was evident the minute he arrived at the team’s Allen Park practice facility.







“There’s a lot of visual stuff that’s changed,” Glasgow said. “A lot of the guys around here, the demeanor is fantastic. It seems like a lot of the coaches that I’ve talked to so far, guys who I’ve known in the past, guys who’ve I’ve worked with in the past and guys who I haven’t worked with, it seems like we got a lot of straight shooters here in the coaching staff. It just seems like overall culture that they have that comes down into the locker room is good, it’s positive.”


Glasgow said he kept tabs on the Lions through Decker and other friends during his time in Denver, and his three seasons with the Broncos gave him a new appreciation for playing offensive line in the NFL.



He started 33 games for the Broncos while navigating a heart scare in 2021, and saw time at both right guard and center last year.

In Detroit, Glasgow should have an opportunity to compete for the starting right guard job, and at worst will fill an Evan Brown-like backup role as a do-it-all interior lineman.

The Lions return four starters on one of the best offensive lines in football, Decker, Ragnow, Jonah Jackson and Penei Sewell, but let Brown walk in free agency. Halapoulivaati Vaitai, the Lions’ starting right guard in 2021, also remains under contract after missing all of last season with back problems.






Glasgow said it was “enticing” to join a line with four established starters, and he said he’s appreciative of the chance to help deliver playoff success to a team that he wanted so badly to do it for before.

“The game is very humbling and I find that being able to have an opportunity to come back to a place where I have emotional ties and even some physical ties, … to be able to come back and be a part of something special is important to me,” Glasgow said. “I think that there’s no better place for me to prove myself than where I’ve already proved myself before.”



Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

[Futureshock]

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