Salary Cap Forum Updated - PREMIUM

• 2009 Dead Cap Updated
• Keith Smith Player Cost
• Shaun Smith Player Cost
• Chuck Darby Player Cost
• Aveion Cason Player Cost
• Ramzee Robinson Player Cost
• Lydon Murtha Player Cost
• Zack Follett Player Cost
• Dan Gronkowski Player Cost

Follow Detroit's salary cap with expert George Ketchman here. (Requires premium membership to RoarReport.com)

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Many questions remain on D-line heading into last preseason game

At a time where teams optimally are making their final roster decisions for a couple of positions, the Lions have questions yet to answer and decisions yet to make regarding virtually their entire defensive line heading into tonight's final preseason game with the Bills.

Tom Kowalski at MLive.com reports that a season-ending Achilles injury to DE Jared DeVries didn't help matters.

DeVries already was slated for the starting left defensive end position with Cliff Avril and Dewayne White fighting for the starting job on the right side. Now, the Lions probably will move Avril to the left side -- that's where he will get a lot of action in Thursday's game -- to compete with Jason Hunter.

Andre Fluellen, last year's third-round draft choice, also has been moved since the injury to DeVries. Fluellen was at tackle but also is playing at left end.

Questions remain on the interior of the defensive line as well, according to Killer:

Veteran Grady Jackson is expected to be a starter, but the Lions expect only 12 to 15 plays per game out of him for the first few weeks of the season. The Lions need to find another starter and another player to rotate with Jackson.

Who will step up? The candidates are Shaun Smith, Chuck Darby, Sammie Hill, Landon Cohen, Ikika Alama-Francis and Orien Harris.

Having this much unresolved this late in the preseason about so many D-line positions probably isn't good. But it's a long road back from 0-16.

Talk about it in The Den!

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Mayhew discusses what he's looking for in Preaseason Game 1

Good little Q-and-A with Freep.com's Nick Cotsonika and Lions GM Martin Mayhew, heading into Saturday's first preseason game.

Key points from Mayhew:
* He wants to see if players who've looked good in practice -- including rookie QB Matthew Stafford -- can translate it into a game situation.

* Injuries and the Lions' lack of depth have left some positions in sigificant flux, but it's a great opportunity for some young, unproven guys trying to make the team.

*Mayhew is happy with the addition of DT Shaun Smith, but the loss of DE Jared DeVries for the season is going to really hurt. "We're still sorting those guys out," Mayhew said of the D-line.

*Mayhew expects third-round draft choice WR Derrick Williams to contribute in the return game.

Read the full interview above, and talk about it in The Den!

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Salary Cap Forum Updated - PREMIUM

2009 Lions Cap Status through August 15th

Transaction Log Updated through August 15th

Shaun Smith Player Cost Follow Detroit's salary cap with expert George Ketchman here. (Requires premium membership to RoarReport.com)

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New Shaun at DT says Old Shaun at DT would like to return

Remember those rumors that former Lions DT Shaun Rogers wanted to return to Motown? Tom Kowalski at MLive.com reports that they're true, according to Rogers' former Cleveland Browns teammate and new Lions DT Shaun Smith.

"That's my best friend and he wishes he could come back here now. He misses it," Smith said after the Lions' morning workout. "You've been somewhere your whole career and you have some good times and you see the talent they're bringing in - (Larry) Foote, (Julian) Peterson and (Phillip) Buchanon - the defense is better now. They've got some quality veterans who can play and there are some young guys with potential.

"He said the people in the building were good and the people in the locker room were good. Just happy to be in the NFC and play ball. It's fun playing in the NFC."

Lions fans remember Rogers as the team's best defensive player in recent seasons. They also, however, remember a player who sometimes had attitude issues, who seemed to take plays off and took whole series off on the sidelines, huffing and puffing. Still, in balance, memories of a Pro Bowl-calibre player outweigh the negatives.

There's not much likelihood of the prodigal son returning, however. Rogers is settling in with the Browns. Still, it's nice to hear of players wanting to come, or come back, to Detroit -- particularly when they're citing an improved defensive corps as one of the attractions.

Talk about it in The Den!

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Former Browns DL Shaun Smith Visits Detroit; DeVries hurt

Looking to shore up a questionable defensive line, the Detroit Lions invited recently cut Browns' defensive lineman Shaun Smith for a physical on Monday.

Smith, who also played nose tackle for the Browns, clashed with the new coaching staff in Cleveland over his attitude and work ethic. He also reportedly punched quarterback Brady Quinn during a weight-room altercation last December.

NFL.com lists Smith at 6-2, 275 pounds. An undrafted free-agent, he's been a bit of an NFL journeyman since joining the league in 2003, spending time in five different NFL cities including New Orleans, Cincinnati, and recently Cleveland. He accrued 48 tackles and two sacks in 2007, his most successful year in the league. The Lions still have an interest in veteran defensive end Kevin Carter, who was recently spurned by the New England Patriots for the Raiders' Derrick Burgess. Need across the defensive line becomes even more prevalent after Jared DeVries was reportedly carted off the field during Monday's practice session.

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