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Top 5 former Lions who won a Super Bowl after leaving Detroit

By Payne Schanski

ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 03: Kyle Van Noy #53 of the New England Patriots reacts after the Patriots defeat the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 during Super Bowl LIII at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on February 3, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 03: Kyle Van Noy #53 of the New England Patriots reacts after the Patriots defeat the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 during Super Bowl LIII at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on February 3, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images /

4. Charlie Batch– Quarterback (1998-2001)

As a Lion: As a rookie in 1998, Batch started for most of the season and showed enough promise to be dubbed by some as the team’s quarterback of the future. He was inconsistent and injury prone, but also gutty and clutch at times. Batch had a hard time staying on the field, but was the official starter whenever healthy for four seasons, and helped the Lions to a surprise playoff berth in 1999 and a 9-7 record the next year.

He led the league with five game winning drives in the 2000 season, but the bottom fell out for both him and the team in 2001, when the Lions started off 0-12 (Batch was 0-9 in his starts that season). The Lions moved on from Batch by drafting Joey Harrington third overall the following spring, and he spent his second act with a surprising longevity as a backup in Pittsburgh.

Super Bowl moment: After leaving Detroit, Batch spent the next decade as Ben Roethlisberger‘s on again/off again backup for the Steelers. During the 2005 season, a knee injury to Big Ben put Batch back into the starting role for a few weeks in November. Batch helped guide the Steelers to a 2-0 record in the games he started, but then a broken hand put him back on the bench, and Roethlisberger was ready to guide Pittsburgh through the playoffs.

The Steelers made it to Super Bowl XL, which ironically was at Ford Field, a brand new stadium at the time, home to the franchise that cut Batch loose five years before. Though he didn’t play at all in the game, how many other ex-Lions quarterbacks can say they earned a Super Bowl ring, and in Detroit of all places?

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