The Lions’ offseason roster overhaul isn’t complete, but free agent defensive tackle John Thornton likely won’t be part of it. Thornton said Sunday he recently turned down an offer to join the team and Jim Schwartz , his former defensive coordinator in Tennessee.

Thornton, 32, was a starter in Cincinnati the last six seasons but was let go as the Bengals signed Tank Johnson . Now he’s unsure if he’ll play anywhere this fall.

Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford received complimentary tickets to an NFL game while at Georgia, an NCAA secondary violation, according to a report. The NCAA defines a secondary violation as “isolated or inadvertent,” and the matter is considered closed, the Athens (Ga.) Banner-Herald reported.

Georgia fullback Shaun Chapas told the newspaper that Stafford received four tickets to the Denver Broncos-Atlanta Falcons game at the Georgia Dome on Nov. 16.

While the matter is considered closed, there’s no word on what exactly if anything the NFL will do about this when it comes to light. Who knows with commish Goodell and his record of handing down the law.

The Detroit Lions have pared down their linebacker corps, releasing Alex Lewis after five seasons. The move, confirmed by team spokesman Bill Keenist today, narrows the number of linebackers on the roster to 10. Lewis, a fifth-round pick from Wisconsin in 2004, started four games last season on the strong side but eventually lost his spot to Ryan Nece.

Former Michigan State safety Otis Wiley hopes to be ready to participate in Detroit Lions training camp July 31 after spending the summer rehabbing his surgically repaired right knee. Wiley, who went undrafted in April, agreed to a free-agent contract with the Lions a day after the 2009 NFL Draft concluded. But Wiley was unable to participate in the team’s minicamps and organized team activities after he failed to pass a physical exam.

My agent reps a lot of D-ends and brings them all down at the same time to work with some coaches and some ex-players who played the position. One is Lester Archambeau who played for the Falcons forever. It’s cool to have a lot of vets let you know some of the things they used to do to prepare for training camp.

This will be my second year and the biggest difference is knowing what to expect going in. Even though we have a new coaching staff so I don’t know what kind of practices we’re going to have, at least I know the tempo of training camp. I’ll be more prepared mentally, unlike last year when I went in and had no clue as far as plays. When you know what you’re doing you can go in there and be able to play football without thinking too much.

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When Anthony Henry was acquired by the Detroit Lions in the trade for quarterback Jon Kitna, Lions head coach Jim Schwartz said that Henry would play cornerback. And, to this date, Henry has only lined up at cornerback for the Lions. The belief, though, is that at one point in training camp, the coaching staff will opt to move Henry to safety and pair him with rookie Louis Delmas. That could change if Daniel Bullocks steps up his game, but Bullocks has a lot to prove to the new coaching staff.

The Detroit Lions are hoping third-round draft pick Derrick Williams can do a little bit of everything but, so far, he’s done a whole lot of nothing. Williams didn’t take part in any of the workouts during the team’s recent minicamp because of a sore hamstring and the coaching staff is worried that he’s going to be far behind when training camp begins. The Lions are looking at Williams as strictly a return specialist this season, something he did with some flair at Penn State.

He was a huge part of the Lions O-line on three NFL championship squads between 1950 and 1959. Named to the Lions’ All-75th anniversary team last season, Creekmur played left offensive guard and tackle for Detroit.

“Lou always will be remembered as one of the true standout players in Lions’ history,” team president Tom Lewand said in a statement. “Offensive linemen often don’t get the credit they deserve and, until his induction into the Hall of Fame, that certainly was the case with Lou.

“If you look at the number of All-NFL and Pro Bowls teams he was selected to and at the success of the Lions’ teams when he played, you know that Lou was one of the all-time great linemen in NFL history.”

The Lions talked about adding a veteran backup because they weren’t sure how quickly Stafford would be ready. They didn’t want to get into a situation where Daunte Culpepper would start the season and then get hurt and then be forced to go with a raw rookie.The Lions are now very confident that Stafford will be ready for the start of the regular season. Beat writer Tom Kowalski thinks he’ll be the starter against New Orleans - or very soon afterward.

It appears that free agent cornerback Eric King has solidified his position as the Detroit Lions’ nickel back. Now the question is whether King can take another step and win one of the starting cornerback positions. King, who has only started three games in his four-year career, is a very good player on the inside, both in zone and man-to-man coverage. King, though, can be vulnerable on the outside on deep routes and that’s the concern in making him a starter.