Detroit Lions: 30 greatest players in franchise history

Kevin Glover was a longtime Lion who made his money on the offensive line by opening up holes for Barry Sanders to run through and by protecting the quarterback in the passing game.

From 1985 to 1997, the starting quarterbacks for the Lions were as follows: Eric Hipple, Joe Ferguson, Chuck Long, Todd Hons, Rusty Hilger, Rodney Peete, Bob Gagliano, Andre Ware, Erik Kramer, Scott Mitchell, Dave Krieg and Don Majkowski.

Those players add up to be an astounding 12 starting quarterbacks over a 13-year period! Despite the uncertainty with their signal caller, one of the only constants during that era for Detroit was the reliable upfront protection from the man who was snapping the ball to those quarterbacks.

Glover, a former Maryland Terrapin, was a 1985 second-round draft pick of the Lions. Though he was a stellar lineman throughout his 13 years in Detroit, he seemed to get even better as he aged.

He wasn’t even voted to the Pro Bowl until his age-32 season (his 11th year in the league!). Glover immediately followed that year with another two seasons of being deemed as a Pro Bowler as he closed out his Lion career with three straight nods.

From the mid-80s to the late-90s, conversations about the best of the offensive linemen in the NFL would not be complete if Glover’s name was not mentioned. A constant presence in the not-too-glamorous trenches of the line of scrimmage, Glover’s steady hand was always there to help set the pace.