Who is the Detroit Lions most under appreciated player?

Don Muhlbach has been on the Detroit Lions for 17 seasons yet he doesn’t get enough love

To show love and support to the team we root for, we go out to their games and buy jerseys of the star players on the team. The Detroit Lions are no exception to this as many of the One Pride faithful fill the seats of Ford Field and have jerseys with many names on the back. Names like longtime quarterback Matthew Stafford, wide receiver Kenny Golladay as well as some former star players in wide receiver Calvin Johnson and running back Barry Sanders.

While Stafford, Golladay, Johnson and Sanders are beloved figures by the fans, none of them have the loyalty and love for the team as long snapper Don Muhlbach does. While a very select few, if any have a jersey with his name on the back, it just shows how under appreciated Muhlbach is to Lions fans.

I get that Muhlbach plays a position that receives zero talk in the media but this is a guy that has given his all since he entered the league. Since signing with the Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2004, he has never appeared in a game with a different team, playing all 244 career games in Detroit.

On a performance level, Muhlbach has been a great long snapper for the Lions. He hasn’t botched a snap since his rookie year in 2004 as he has snapped the ball cleanly each time to the holder or punter. Along with that, he does a great job protecting the kicker and punter by preventing opposing defenses from getting by him. He has also been selected to two Pro Bowls with his last appearance coming as recently as the 2018 season.

One thing about him that goes unnoticed is his durability. He has been healthy and on the active roster for 161 consecutive games with his last missed game coming in Week 15 in the 2009 season due to a concussion.

Muhlbach plays an important position for the Lions, one that he has been doing so for the past 17 years, yet he doesn’t get enough appreciation from the Lions fan base. Muhlbach deserves our appreciation due to his success and loyalty to the organization. There are very few players across professional sports that have dedicated their entire careers to one organization. Both the team and fans need to do more to show Muhlbach how thankful we are for his services.