Lions Ink Delmas; Visit with Hackett

Seven down, three to go.

The Detroit Lions came to terms with rookie safety Louis Delmas on Thursday. Delmas' superagent, Drew Rosenhaus, was able to tweet the news, which was reposted (and re-tweeted) as Hot News by Scout.com's Adam Caplan, and is now being blogged to you here.

First-round pick Brandon Pettigrew, third-rounder Derrick Williams and fourth-round project pick Sammie Lee Hill all remain unsigned with less than 24 hours to go before Friday's camp deadline. The Lions expect to have each in the fold by Friday morning.

The Lions also worked out receiver D.J. Hackett, according to John Niyo of the Detroit News, but Hackett reportedly left without a contract.

Excited about training camp? Discuss these topics and more in The Den, the most popular Detroit Lions message board on the internet.

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DT help on the way?

With Shaun Rogers long gone, free-agent signee Grady Jackson facing a possible 4-game suspension, and the remainder of the DTs on the roster either insufficiently experienced or insufficiently, well sufficient to fit the new defensive scheme, the Lions are in desperate need for help at defensive tackle.  Veteran DT John Thornton already turned the Lions down, in part because he didn’t want to gain the fifteen-to-twenty pounds required to anchor the middle of the line.  The latest candidate to fill out a size XXXL jersey will have no need to gain weight; in fact he’ll have to lose quite a bit in order to slim down to the 330-pound target the Lions seem to have in mind.

Former Eagles and Saints DT Hollis Thomas has been on the market since the Saints released him shortly after the draft.  On the 17th, Scout.com’s own Adam Caplan reported that Thomas’ old team, the Eagles, worked him out—yet he was allowed to leave that session without a contract, and he reportedly weighed in well about his listed playing weight, 335 pounds.  Despite an extremely disappointing 2009 campaign in which he gathered only 14 tackles in 8 games (2 starts), Scout still lists Thomas amongst the best available talent at his position, partially due to a 50-tackle, 3-sack 2008 campaign.

According to PFT, the Rams are on Hollis’ four-team short list—it’s unknown if the Eagles are still in play after declining to sign him last week—and an ESPN Insider piece named the Lions as a natural fit.  John Niyo of the Detroit News wrote in his blog on Sunday that the Lions may keep a roster spot open for a veteran defensive lineman.

Frankly, the Lions have nothing to lose here; even if Hollis cannot get back down to a more athletic 335 pounds, he should at least be a usable big body on first down and short yardage situations.  A moderate one-year deal to at keep Grady Jackson’s sizable seat on the bench warm for four games seems like a no-brainer.  The only question is, can the Lions outdraw the other three teams on the list for his services?  We should find out this week.

Discuss it here, in The Den!

The Pain Train is coming

According to Adam Caplan, the Lions have signed seventh-round draft choice Zack Follett to a three-year deal.  Known as the “Pain Train” to his Cal teammates, Follett has said that he patterns his game after the original Pain Train, Terry Tate. 

Coming out of Clovis, CA as a four-star recruit—the 40th-ranked linebacker in the nation--Follett immediately made an impact at Cal with his speed and aggressiveness.  Playing in every game as a true freshman, he had 32 tackles and 2 sacks.  As a sophomore, he only started one game, yet lead the team in tackles for loss (12.5), tied for the team lead in sacks (5.5), led the Pac-10 in forced fumbles (4), had 62 total tackles, and was honorable mention All-Pac 10.  As a junior starter, he was second-team All-Pac 10; again with 12.5 TFL and 5.5 sacks, plus 64 total tackles.  However, his season was interrupted by a neck stinger, caused by the aggravation of a bulging disc discovered in high school.  Just prior to his senior season, Cal switched to a 3-4 alignment, partially to maximize Follett’s explosive, attacking style:

I would say they were successful. Follett finished fourth in the Pac-10 with 10.5 sacks.  He also led the Pac-10 in tackles for loss (23) and forced fumbles (5).  He was named first-team All Pac-10, in a conference rife with NFL linebacking talent.  He was also MVP of the Emerald Bowl after racking up 9 tackles (8 solo), four of them for losses (-33 yards).  That also includes two sacks, one of which forced a fumble.

As easy as it is to get pumped about Follett’s amazing hits, huge plays, and passion for football, there are several drawbacks to his game.  Follett’s far from a complete linebacker; he was asked to do little more than blitz in college. He lacks the coverage skills to be a traditional 4-3 strong side OLB, and there were multiple reports from minicamp that he’s having difficulty picking up Gunther Cunningham’s scheme.  While it’s tempting to compare his skill set to OLB Julian Peterson, a more apt comparison would be former Buckeye and Patriot Andy Katzenmoyer, whose explosive highlight-reel hits in college failed to translate into excellent all-around play in the NFL . . . and whose career was also sidelined by neck stingers.

Follett’s only saving grace may be that he won’t be asked to be a traditional strong side OLB; the Cunningham-Schwartz scheme will feature a lot of blitzing, as high as forty percent of snaps.  If Follett can prove to be a situational threat when blitzing, and a special teams demon, he could yet make the roster—and be the next against-the-odds fan favorite, in the mold of David Kircus, Greg Blue, and “Blue” Adams.

Discuss it here, in The Den!

Lions claim ex-Cowboys CB Tra Battle

According to a report by Adam Caplan of ScoutNFLNetwork.com, the Lions have claimed 5'-11", 173-pound Tra Battle off of waivers.  Originally signed as an undrafted free agent last year by San Diego, Battle was claimed off the Chargers' practice squad by the Cowboys last November.  Seeing action in five games, he recorded five tackles.  Battle was released earlier today, and the Lions immediately pounced.

As has been noted before, one of the extremely few perks of going 0-16 is having a death grip on top waiver priority.  It remains to be seen if Battle will even make the final roster--but with nearly 100% turnover at the cornerback position, nearly every corner in camp will have an opportunity to do so.

Discuss it here, in The Den!