Officially scratch the Bengals deal. Pro Football Talk and the Detroit Free Press are reporting Shaun Rogers will be traded to the Cleveland Browns for cornerback Leigh Bodden and a third round draft choice. As for why the original deal fell through, all I’m finding is the league didn’t approve it.
As cornerback is a massive black hole talentwise on the Lions’ roster, I can see why they made this deal. The 26 year old Bodden started all 16 games for the Browns in 2007, with 6 picks and 88 tackles. He automatically becomes the Lions’ best corner.
I don’t know how [...]

At Mlive tonight, Lions beat writer Killer Kowalski is reporting the Rogers trade is in “limbo.” Doing a little on-line poking around, I found a report from Fox Sports NFL writer Alex Marvez, who claims the trade is still being “negotiated.” According to Sports Illustrated and the Detroit News, their reports say “the deal appears to be dormant.”
All this has me wondering, did the Lions renege on the trade? Do they have a better offer? It appears the answers are yes and yes. The Lions are talking to other teams, and may have found a better offer than the [...]

The first fat domino fell just as I was finishing up my previous post. The Lions have made their first major roster move, and it’s the one everyone expected.
Shaun Rogers is no longer a member of the Detroit Lions. Big Baby was shipped to the Cincinnati Bengals for 3rd and 5th round picks in the upcoming draft.

This is a crushing blow to Detroit’s economy,
as restaurants close in the wake of Rogers’ departure
This is a worst case scenario. It means we fans have to put our trust in, God forbid, Matt Millen. He needs to turn those 2 draft picks [...]

NFL free agency began today, and the moratorium on trades was lifted. The Lions were expected to be quite active in both the free agent and trade markets. Unfortunately, they are being noticed not for what they have done, which is nothing, but what they haven’t done, which is nothing. How much nothing? A whole lot of nothing…
Nothing number 1: Despite all the rumors regarding a trade, Shaun Rogers is still a Lion. If he’s on the Lions’ roster at midnight tonight, Big Baby earns a roster bonus, and will be a million dollars richer. Matt Millen has stated in [...]

With NFL free agency set to start in a little over 3 hours, rumors involving the Detroit Lions are running rampant. Let’s see where the worst run team in professional sports stands.
From all reports, the Shaun Rogers “situation” will come to a head on Friday when the trade moratorium is lifted. We’ve heard there’s plenty of interest around the NFL in Rogers, with the Jets, Broncos, Dolphins, and Jaguars specifically inquiring about the availability of the chubby, underachieving, yet undeniably talented, tackle.
Denver has supposedly offered cornerback Domonique Foxworth, and possibly a draft pick. The Jets offer would involve linebacker Johnathan [...]

Pro Football Talk is reporting the Lions have come to an agreement with former Buccaners, Saints and Vikings safety Dwight Smith. He won’t come cheap…
Per the source, Smith gets a $350,000 signing bonus, a $300,000 training-camp reporting bonus in 2008, and a 2008 base salary of $1.35 million. Next year, Smith is due to receive a $500,000 roster bonus, a $250,000 reporting bonus, and a base salary of $2.25 million.
What this signing does is add another player who played under Rod Marinelli and Joe Barry with the Bucs. The Detroit Lions continue to morph into the North Tampa Lions.
Smith [...]

If you are William Clay Ford and the Detroit Lions, you raise ticket prices.
From today’s Detroit Free Press:
“In order for us to maintain competitiveness in the NFL, we have to do this,” executive vice president Tom Lewand said today.
Uh, I have a question Mr Lewand. When was the last time the Lions were truly competitive? Maybe in 2000? Possibly the mid-90’s? You could rightfully say 1957.
Actually, I have another question for the Lions’ front office. Isn’t there a salary cap in place to guarantee teams have a level playing field? So why say a ticket price increase is needed [...]

…Let’s review where the Lions stand, shall we?
If you read my other blog today, you’d have seen I spent the day making “Shaun Rogers is fat” jokes, expecting the roly-poly tackle to be traded. Well, the trade with Denver, or with any other team, has yet to happen.
It’s expected Rogers will be dealt before March 1st, when he is due a $1 million roster bonus. It’s just common sense, right? Seems silly to pay 7 figures to someone who won’t be wearing the Honolulu blue and silver during the 2008 season, but it being the Lions, stranger things have happened.
While [...]

Big Al’s magic 8 ball says, “All signs point to yes.”
To get a feel as to why I’m so sure a trade between Denver and Detroit will blow up in Matt Millen’s face, we need to turn back the dial on the wayback machine 1 year.
On March 1, 2007, the Denver Broncos and Detroit Lions consummated a trade. The Broncos received Pro Bowl cornerback Dre’ Bly. Though Bly didn’t have a great season, he did start every game for Denver, making 5 interceptions.
As for the Lions? To but it bluntly, they were taken to the cleaners. They got hosed. They [...]

In a move that surprised no one, long derided starting cornerback Fernando Bryant was released by the Lions this afternoon. Though the Detroit front office wouldn’t say it, I suspect Bryant was cut for his own health, as he ended the season suffering from 3rd degree windburns caused by wide receivers running past him in coverage. The fact Bryant also sucked may have also had something to do with the release.

This is how most fans will remember Bryant,
being run over by opposing receivers
With Fernando Bryant no longer watching receivers run by him as a Lion, that leaves one, count [...]