Pride Of Detroit

Saints Restricted Free Agent Anthony Hargrove Visiting Lions

2010-03-15T23:24:09Z

New Orleans Saints defensive end Anthony Hargrove celebrates a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts during the second half of Super Bowl XLIV. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

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The Times-Picayune is reporting that Saints defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove is visiting the Lions tonight and tomorrow. Hargrove is a restricted free agent with a third-round tender, meaning if he signed an offer sheet with the Lions and the Saints declined to match that offer, Detroit would have to send a third-round selection to New Orleans. It's always possible that a trade involving different compensation could be worked out, but based on Hargrove's tender, the Lions would have to give up a third-rounder to sign him.

Although there is no report of an offer being made just yet, the fact that the Lions are hosting Hargrove for a visit is very interesting to me. Hargrove is a defensive tackle who can play defensive end as well, and he is coming off of a pretty good season and good year in general. After being suspended for all of 2008 due to another violation of the league's substance abuse policy, Hargrove cleaned up his life and ended up getting another chance to play in the NFL down in New Orleans. Hargrove's life is now on the right path and he is greatly respected by his teammates in New Orleans, as evidenced by the fact that they voted him as the recipient of the team's 2009 Ed Block Courage Award.

What exactly this means for the Lions is tough to figure out. I personally would be surprised if the Lions gave up the 66th overall pick to sign Hargrove. If that does end up happening, though, what does it mean for the second overall pick of the draft? If Hargrove was brought in as a defensive end, then it would simply mean that the Lions are really trying to improve their defensive line and could still draft Ndamukong Suh or Gerald McCoy. While that's certainly possible, I just have a hard time believing the Lions would give up a third-round pick for another defensive end when they already signed Kyle Vanden Bosch and gave Jason Hunter the highest tender out of all their restricted free agents. To me that shows that they are high on Hunter, meaning unless they are really concerned about depth at defensive end, it wouldn't make sense to bring in someone like Hargrove to play outside.

If Hargrove is brought in as a defensive tackle, then you would certainly think that Suh and McCoy are no longer an option for the second overall pick. Again, it's possible that it could be a situation where the Lions just want to load up on depth at the defensive tackle position, but that doesn't seem very likely. If anything, a move to sign Hargrove would signal that the Lions either feel really good about being able to trade down or are content with drafting someone like Russell Okung.

Martin Mayhew has certainly thrown a curve ball simply by going to the trouble of hosting Hargrove for a visit, but it's important to realize that nothing has actually happened yet. I don't know what the strategy is behind possibly signing Hargrove and having to give up a third-round pick, but if Mayhew has shown us anything in the past, it's that he always seems to be planning ahead and has something up his sleeve. Perhaps a move to sign Hargrove is just the start of something bigger, such as a trade to move down from the second overall pick.

(Interesting side note via John Niyo: Hargrove's agent is Philip Williams, who is also Will Heller's agent and was Mayhew's agent when he was a player.)

Lions Announce Chris Houston Trade with Different Compensation

2010-03-15T22:43:06Z

Although the Chris Houston trade was thought to be made official a week ago considering the Falcons announced the deal, the Lions didn't make an announcement of their own until earlier today. I was reading through my e-mails on my way to class and noticed the press release and didn't even realize the trade hadn't already been confirmed by the Lions. When I actually opened the press release, I was surprised to find that the terms of the deal were different than what was reported last week.

The Detroit Lions announced today that they have acquired CB Chris Houston from the Atlanta Falcons for the Lions' sixth round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft and a conditional seventh round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.

I'm not exactly sure why the deal changed, but someone may want to alert the Falcons, who still have this on their official site:

Traded CB Chris Houston to the Detroit Lions for a sixth-round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft and a swap of fifth-round selections

The Falcons' report on the trade is what we all thought the deal entailed. The Lions would receive Houston in exchange for giving up a sixth-rounder and swapping fifth-rounders. Instead, though, according to the Lions, all that was given up is a sixth-rounder this year and a conditional seventh-rounder next year. Personally, that is an even better deal in my eyes. I'd rather have the second pick of the fifth round than the 18th pick and an extra seventh-rounder a year from now. Sure, you lose an extra pick, but the Lions' fifth-round pick is essentially a late fourth-rounder. To me, not having to move down 16 spots in the fifth round is worth more than a seventh-rounder a year from now.

With the Shaun Hill trade set to become official after he takes a physical, I am under the assumption that the Lions have conditionally traded one of their seventh-round picks in 2011 and will officially trade the other one to the 49ers in the next couple of days. The 49ers simply reported that Hill was traded for an "undisclosed 2011 draft pick," but unless that deal suddenly changes, the Lions have given up two seventh-round picks (one that is their own and another that is from the Jets for the Kevin O'Connell trade). I don't know what is conditional about the pick involving Houston, but considering it usually involves playing time or performance, it's probably unlikely the Lions will get that pick back since he is expected to start. Either way, this is some interesting maneuvering going on by Martin Mayhew.

Larry Foote Agrees to Three-Year Deal with Steelers

2010-03-15T17:24:20Z

From John Niyo:

Foote, a starter at middle linebacker last season for the Lions, has agreed to terms on a three-year, $9.3 million deal, including a $1.8 million signing bonus, with the Steelers, a league source confirmed.

Moving on...

Larry Foote Deal with Steelers Coming Soon?

2010-03-15T14:36:06Z

Terry Foster of the Detroit News is reporting that Larry Foote and the Steelers are close to a deal.

"I am excited to return," said Foote, who drove to Pittsburgh in hopes of finalizing a three-year contract. "They called."

Based on a report from this past weekend, Foote will probably be in Pittsburgh today to take a physical and finalize this deal.

Three years is a lot more than Foote ever could have hoped for with the Lions, but I will wish him good luck with the Steelers if that is where he does indeed end up. I know people haven't been a fan of how this whole situation was handled, especially with some of the comments Foote made recently, but he did say something good in this latest article:

"It was a positive experience," he said. "I mean, I got to play at home, but that part that stunk is that all of the games were not on television. ... But overall, the people I met and networked with, I was happy about the situation."

I'm sure it's only a matter of time until Foote ends up back in Detroit again at some point in his life, just not as a linebacker for the Lions.

More Rumors About Lions' Interest in Pacman Jones

2010-03-15T12:34:10Z

More photos » Gene J. Puskar - AP

FILE -- This is a Dec. 7, 2008, file photo showing Dallas Cowboys' Adam "Pacman" Jones (21) running against the Pittsburgh Steelers during an NFL football game in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

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A couple weeks ago when rumors about Antonio Cromartie started popping up, there was also a rumor swirling about Pacman Jones. The rumor, which made its way around the NFL Combine, involved the possibility that the Lions were interested in the former Tennessee Titan. On paper the rumor made sense considering the connection between Jones and Jim Schwartz, and actually the rumor mainly was about Schwartz reaching out to his former player.

Although Tom Kowalski seemed to debunk the rumor as nothing more than an agent's attempt to create some buzz for Pacman Jones' March 19 workout, the rumor has picked up some steam again in recent days based on an apparent report made by NFL Network's Jason La Canfora.

According to NFL Network's Jason La Canfora, the 49ers and Lions are showing the most interest in free agent Pacman Jones.

La Canfora also touted the Pacman-to-Detroit scenario in an NFL.com blog post 10 days ago. It's expected that both teams' head coaches (Mike Singletary and Jim Schwartz) will attend Jones' individual workout next Friday.

Like Niners Nation, SB Nations' 49ers blog, I am a little skeptical of this report. It just seems like it could easily be nothing more than BS, although I don't doubt that the Lions have probably at least talked about Pacman Jones. That conversation may not have lasted very long, but I would imagine the thought of at least attending his workout has been entertained.

For me, I don't know if I would want the Lions to even waste their time considering just how big of a screw up Pacman Jones is, but if Jim Schwartz does go to his workout and thinks he has something left football-wise, then perhaps the risk might be worth it. If Jones was brought in, depth at cornerback would suddenly look even better than before, but I would still treat it as a position of need simply because you never know when Jones will do something stupid and cost himself a spot on the team. That is where the risk in all of this comes in, although even speculating that far in advance is looking a little too far ahead in my opinion. Like I said before, I'm not even sure how credible this report is, so we probably should wait to see if anything develops from this workout on Friday before putting too much stock in the Lions' supposed interest in Pacman Jones. Even so, what do you guys think about the possibility of adding him if his workout goes well?

Poll

If Pacman Jones shows he can still play in the NFL at his workout, would you want the Lions to sign him?

Pride of Detroit Tournament Pick'em

2010-03-14T23:16:32Z

Pride of Detroit Tournament Pick'em

Please use your POD username as the name of your bracket so we can easily keep track of how everybody is doing.

Lions Trade for Quarterback Shaun Hill

2010-03-14T20:41:09Z

More photos » Paul Sakuma - AP

10 months ago: San Francisco 49ers quarterback Shaun Hill passes during NFL football minicamp at 49ers headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., Friday, May 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

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The Lions have taken care of their need for a backup quarterback by reportedly trading for 49ers signal-caller Shaun Hill. San Francisco recently signed David Carr, making Hill expendable, and the Lions wasted little time in making a move to add him by sending a seventh-round pick in 2011 to the 49ers.

Hill has spent the last four seasons of his career in San Francisco. In 2006, he didn't appear in any games, but in 2007, he made two starts and played in three contests. Hill got substantially more playing time in the last two seasons, making a total of 14 starts and playing in a total of 15 games. His numbers weren't out of this world with San Francisco, but they were definitely respectable and certainly more than okay for somebody who will be a backup in Detroit.

Before playing for the 49ers, Hill was a member of the Minnesota Vikings from 2002-05. He only appeared in one game during that time, but Scott Linehan served as his offensive coordinator for all but one of those seasons, so there is some familiarity there.

My initial reaction to this move is very positive. For only a seventh-rounder in 2011 (Detroit has two of them because of the Kevin O'Connell deal with the Jets), the Lions have taken care of the need they have at quarterback. We all knew Daunte Culpepper probably wasn't going to return unless the Lions really got desperate, so there was a void behind Matthew Stafford. By adding Hill, the Lions can worry about other positions and just let he and Drew Stanton compete to be Stafford's backup. Chances are Hill will win that job, and if Stafford were to go down with an injury, Hill certainly seems like someone who can replace him and perform well enough that the Lions will actually have a chance to win.

Chester Pitts to Visit Lions on Wednesday

2010-03-14T12:56:27Z

Free agent offensive guard Chester Pitts said on Twitter a few days ago that he will be visiting the Lions on Wednesday. John Niyo got confirmation that the visit will happen from Pitts' agent, who also said that his client will be visiting the 49ers later on in the week.

Pitts has reportedly drawn interest from a variety of teams, including the Lions, Dolphins, Bengals, and Seahawks. Obviously the 49ers are interested as well seeing as they have scheduled a visit with the veteran guard.

Before 2009, Pitts started every game from the 2002 season to 2008. He also started 2 games this past season before a knee injury brought his streak of consecutive starts to an end. If he can get healthy again, Pitts would be a nice addition for any offensive line, especially one like the Lions, which has such a big need at guard.

Larry Foote Wants to Play for a Winner Again

2010-03-14T02:13:59Z

Larry Foote is set to visit the Steelers, his former team, on Monday. Foote visited the Cardinals earlier this week and made it known that he'd specifically like to play for Arizona, and in general he wants to be on a winning team no matter what. Also, Foote would prefer to play in a 3-4 defense again since he is more comfortable in that type of system.

"I'm begging. I want to get back to a winner. I feel more comfortable with a 3-4 (defense). Pittsburgh wants me back but I want to be a Cardinal and hopefully we can get it done. First of all, they're winning. I know 'Whiz'. I know his pedigree, what type of coach he is, the talent they have here. They have a good chance of going back to the Super Bowl."

Considering Foote left Arizona without a deal, it seems like the chances of him returning to the Steelers are pretty good. More than anything, it's pretty obvious he won't be coming back to Detroit at this point. His comments about returning to a winner are a shot at the Lions, though I can understand where he is coming from. Foote had played for a winning franchise in Pittsburgh all of his career, so coming to a team like the Lions had to be tough. On top of that, there's no doubt that Foote feels slighted by the franchise after not receiving a long-term contract offer despite passing up other offers in 2009 to join the team. In that regard, I can see why he is upset.

Regardless of Foote's thoughts on the Lions, it does look like he will get his wish of playing for a winner again, assuming the Steelers extend him an offer. It sounds like he would have accepted an offer from the Cardinals if he got one, but now that he's set to visit Pittsburgh, my prediction is for him to return to that team.

Lions Offer Caleb Campbell a Contract

2010-03-11T22:59:29Z

More photos » Michael Conroy - AP

FILE - In this Feb. 26, 2008, file photo, defensive back Caleb Campbell of Army runs the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)

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Every once in a while there will be a comment or a FanPost asking what happened to Caleb Campbell, a seventh-round draft pick in 2008 from Army. Campbell appeared to be set to compete for a spot on the team in the summer of 2008, but a change in Army policy forced him to report for duty. Since then he has been involved in sports by being part of the Army Prep School's football coaching staff at some point and by training to be a bobsledder, but those were really the only things I heard about him since he left the Lions.

Now, we finally have a relevant update on Campbell thanks to the Times Herald-Record.

Former Army safety Caleb Campbell said he's been offered a contract by the Detroit Lions, the team who drafted him in the seventh round in 2008.

Now, it's up to Department of Defense if Campbell, a 2008 West Point graduate, will be allowed to sign the contract and attend rookie mini-camp after the April draft.

Campbell actually worked out with the Lions on Tuesday and performed quite well, which is why he received a contract offer. Whether or not he signs that offer will come down to if he can get a two-month early release from his service. The current rule allows athletes to "pursue their sport two years after their graduation date from West Point," but Campbell would need to be ready to come to the mini-camp in April. Hopefully it all works out this time and Campbell will be able to return to Allen Park to start competing for a spot on the roster next month.

(HT: Philip Zaroo of MLive)

The Art of the Deal: Wine, Stuffed Lions, and Dinner

2010-03-11T17:25:28Z

Jim Schwartz made headlines last week for his late-night visit to Tennessee to meet with Kyle Vanden Bosch as soon as the defensive end became a free agent. The idea for the visit came from Rex Ryan, who did the same thing last year to entice Bart Scott to follow him to the Jets. Considering Vanden Bosch ended up signing with the Lions, the visit can be described as a resounding success, and as a matter of fact, it wasn't the only successful visit a Detroit coach made at the start of free agency.

"I got a call a little after nine, just relaxing at the house," said Burleson. "(I) got a call and Scott was in Seattle. I was like, ‘What’s going on? Is this really happening right now? Is this how people do things?’"

"(Linehan) said ‘Do you want to go to dinner, sit down and talk?’" said Burleson. "I called my dad and said, ‘I need you here.’ He’s probably my biggest fan, so we went to dinner, sat down and – to be honest – he didn’t need to sell me.

"It wasn’t that I walked away with a full stomach and I was convinced that I need to play for the Lions, it was more the effort of him coming to Seattle, showing that he really wanted to make a personal connection. Even though I know Scott, him coming out and actually looking me in my eyes and being in Seattle spoke volumes and for that reason I was very appreciative."

Nate Burleson's reaction to the visit by Linehan is very similar to Vanden Bosch's reaction to Schwartz coming all the way down to Tennessee.

"I was shocked," Vanden Bosch said. "I was kind of gearing up all day, waiting for 11 o'clock (Central time) and wondering what was going to happen.

"Coach Schwartz called me at 11:01 p.m. and said 'I'm a block from your house, can you give me a minute?' He said, 'I could be anywhere (in the country) right now, but I'm coming to talk to you because you're the guy I want.' That meant a lot to me and set the tone for getting the deal done this morning."

Schwartz met with Vanden Bosch and his wife for three and a half hours, and the rest is history. KVB ended up signing with the Lions, and this visit was a big reason why. The details of the visit, though, are probably the best part of this whole story.

He was Vanden Bosch's defensive coordinator in Tennessee from 2005-08 and thought so highly of his talents -- and ability to instantly help the beleaguered Lions defensive front -- he waited outside Vanden Bosch's gated community in Nashville with a bottle of Opus One wine, three stuffed Lions animals -- for Vanden Bosch's three small children -- and a serious sales pitch as free agency opened at midnight Friday.

Schwartz has said that visits like this probably won't be a common thing in the future since the Lions' top targets this year had personal connections to he and Scott Linehan. If it was just some random free agent that nobody on the staff knew very well, then it would be kind of awkward to just show up unannounced at the start of free agency. With Burleson and Vanden Bosch, however, Linehan and Schwartz do have a personal connection and were able to entice both to sign with the Lions by showing the effort to go across the country and south to Tennessee. Plus, it didn't hurt that Schwartz brought wine and stuffed animals with him and Linehan treated Burleson to dinner. I guess that is just the art of the deal.

"I won't get into specific names, but we had a number of guys on defense who would have been better...

2010-03-10T20:35:23Z

"I won't get into specific names, but we had a number of guys on defense who would have been better a step back from where they were actually having to play every week," Mayhew says.

"We had a number of spots where a player would have been perfect as, say, a third defensive end or a nickel, or as a backup special teams player. But they were forced onto the field and were a little overmatched, overwhelmed at times.

"That's definitely something that we took a long look at after the season. We feel like a lot of guys on our team are quality players and they belong in the league, but they need somebody ahead of them and they need to be in a rotation or in the right role."

-Martin Mayhew in the Detroit News

Martin Mayhew Checks Out Oklahoma's Pro Day

2010-03-10T11:09:52Z

Martin Mayhew is a busy man. Just days after wrapping up the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, free agency started and kept the entire Lions organization busy. There were lots of moves made during the first few days of free agency, and there were probably many more potential moves that we never heard about because nothing ended up actually happening. Needless to say, I'm sure Mayhew spent quite a bit of time working the phones since Friday.

Now, though, as free agency starts to die down a little, it's time to turn the focus back to the draft. Although lots of scouting was done in Indy just a week or so ago, pro days are now taking place at colleges across the country, including some big-name schools this week, such as Oklahoma. As expected, Mayhew was at the Sooners' pro day to continue to scout a potential first-round pick in Gerald McCoy.

General manager Martin Mayhew attended Oklahoma’s pro day today, along with many other NFL officials, including Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo, whose team holds the No. 1 overall pick.

Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy didn’t go through some of the drills he did at the NFL scouting combine, such as the bench press, even though he did only 23 reps of 225 pounds in Indianapolis. But McCoy measured 6-feet-4 and 298 pounds and went through some position drills.

Oklahoma State left tackle Russell Okung’s pro day is Wednesday. Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh’s is Thursday.

McCoy is planning on doing the bench press again on March 25, which is when Sam Bradford will be holding his own pro day. In the meantime, I'm sure the Lions, and more specifically Martin Mayhew, will be ready to check out Russell Okung today and Ndamukong Suh tomorrow.

For a look at the full schedule of pro days, click here.

Steelers interested in bringing back Foote

2010-03-09T16:58:25Z

Steelers interested in bringing back Foote

That's interesting news, to say the least.

Transactions Tracker: What the Lions Have Done in March So Far

2010-03-09T06:03:11Z

The start of free agency has brought about a slew of stories ranging from rumors to trades to signings and to releases. In the past week alone, there have been over 40 stories posted on Pride of Detroit, not to mention a countless number of FanPosts and FanShots as well. With that in mind, I wouldn't be surprised if some of you have missed a story or two since things have been so busy. In order to quickly catch you all up on everything that has happened in the last week, I put together a transactions tracker dating back to March 4, which is when things first started happening this month. Check it out.

Signings

WR Nate Burleson; 5 years, $25 million with $11 million guaranteed (March 5)
DE Kyle Vanden Bosch; 4 years, $26 million with $10 million in 2010 (March 5)
WR Brian Clark; 1 year (March 8)
CB Jonathan Wade; 1 year (March 8)

Re-signings

OT Jon Jansen; 1 year, $860,000 (March 5)
LB Vinny Ciurciu; 1 year (March 5)
TE Will Heller; 3 years (March 8)

Trades

Received from Cleveland: DT Corey Williams, 2010 7th-round pick; Sent to Cleveland: 2010 5th-round pick originally belonging to Denver (March 5)
Received from Atlanta: CB Chris Houston, 2010 5th-round pick; Sent to Atlanta: 2010 5th-round pick, 2010 6th-round pick (March 8)

Releases

CB Phillip Buchanon (March 4)
DT Grady Jackson (March 5)
DE Dewayne White (March 8)

Restricted Free Agent Tenders (March 4)

OG Manny Ramirez (Right of First Refusal [ROFR] & Original Draft Compensation [4th-round pick]) - $1,101,000
OG Daniel Loper (ROFR) - $1,226,000
C Dylan Gandy (ROFR & Original Draft Compensation [4th-round pick]) - $1,176,000
DE Jason Hunter (ROFR & 2nd Round Compensation) - $1,759,000
DE Copeland Bryan - Not tendered
LB Cody Spencer - Not tendered
CB Kevin Hobbs (ROFR) - $1,101,000
S Daniel Bullocks (ROFR & Original Draft Compensation [recognized as a 3rd-round pick]) - $1,176,000
S Ko Simpson (ROFR & Original Draft Compensation [4th-round pick]) - $1,176,000

Exclusive Rights Free Agents Tendered Offers (March 4)

RB Cedric Peerman
OG Corey Hilliard
TE Jake Nordin
LB Zack Follett
CB DeAngelo Smith

Tom Kowalski: Lions Won't Pursue Lito Sheppard

2010-03-09T02:29:45Z

The Lions have already made some moves to improve their secondary, but according to Tom Kowalski, don't expect anything to happen with Lito Sheppard.

Contrary to a report that indicated the Detroit Lions were interested in bringing in veteran free agent cornerback Lito Sheppard for an interview, it's not going to happen. According to a league source, the Lions will not pursue Sheppard.

Well, that's that I guess. I'm not going to bother speculating too much over if things changed or if the original report was inaccurate, but one quick guess is that with the additions of Jonathan Wade and Chris Houston, perhaps the Lions are simply content with waiting to make any moves involving a veteran like Sheppard until after the draft. After all, the Lions don't necessarily want to go too crazy with the signings, especially if they have a plan to address the cornerback position in the draft. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

Lions Officially Trade for Chris Houston

2010-03-09T00:50:40Z

Multiple news outlets are reporting that the Lions have officially traded for Falcons cornerback Chris Houston. I guess whatever delay there may have been was resolved quickly, because Houston is now a member of the Detroit Lions.

The compensation that was originally reported by Adam Schefter hasn't changed. Atlanta will receive a sixth-round pick from the Lions and the two teams will swap their fifth-rounders. All picks involved are for this year's draft.

Suddenly the Lions' secondary is starting to take shape with the additions of Houston and Jonathan Wade. I'm sure the Lions aren't done, but like I said earlier, this is a great start.

Lions Sign Jonathan Wade; Trade for Chris Houston Still Being Negotiated

2010-03-08T23:33:02Z

Cornerback Jonathan Wade was set to visit the Lions today, and that visit must have went pretty well, because the team has reportedly signed the former Rams defensive back to a one-year deal.

Wade is a speedy cornerback who excelled in both track and football in high school and college. At Tennessee he was originally a wide receiver but switched to cornerback early on his career, which has proved to be a good decision. Also at Tennessee he ran track and was an All-American in 2005 for the indoor and outdoor seasons.

In 2007, Wade was drafted by the Rams in the third round. In the three seasons he played for the Rams, Wade appeared in all but one game and made a total of 6 starts. Wade should be able to compete for a starting job with the Lions, and even if he is merely a backup, his versatility should prove useful if any starters are unable to play. Wade can be a nickelback or a regular cornerback, which will be good for depth purposes one way or another.

While the Lions have improved their depth at cornerback by signing Wade, the team is still hoping to add more depth by trading for Chris Houston. Although Adam Schefter's report on the trade made it sound like the Lions and Falcons simply had to dot the i's and cross the t's, the Free Press' Nicholas Cotsonika reports that a deal may not be quite that close to becoming official just yet.

The Lions and Atlanta Falcons are still talking today about a trade that would send cornerback Chris Houston to Detroit, an NFL source said.

I'm not sure what the delay is, but hopefully it is nothing that will be too big of an obstacle for the trade to become official at some point. The Lions still have a ways to go to improve the secondary, but signing Wade and trading for Houston would be a great start, so let's hope this trade is completed without any issues.

Lions Make Roster Moves Involving Will Heller, Brian Clark, and Dewayne White

2010-03-08T23:05:36Z

More photos » Andy King - AP

Detroit Lions tight end Will Heller catches an 8-yard touchdown pass. (AP Photo/Andy King)

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There are reports of trades and signings that have not been confirmed by the Lions just yet, but the team did announce three roster moves earlier today.

The Detroit Lions announced today that they have re-signed TE Will Heller to a three-year deal and signed free agent WR Brian Clark to a one-year deal. Additional contract terms were not disclosed. The team also released DE Dewayne White.

The move to re-sign Heller comes as no surprise considering there was talk last week that a deal would get done at some point. The Lions obviously like what they have in Heller, who provides good depth at tight end behind Brandon Pettigrew, who is still recovering from a torn ACL. Heller performed well last season in my opinion, so I'm glad he's coming back.

Brian Clark played for the Buccaneers the last three seasons and the Broncos for the two seasons before that. He is more of a special teams player than a receiver considering he only has 11 career catches, so I would imagine he is someone who will be competing for a roster spot based on what he does on special teams.

As for White, he was originally brought in by Rod Marinelli in 2007 after playing for the Buccaneers from 2003-06. White played quite well in his first two seasons with the team, but his production dropped off big time last season. He appeared in only 10 games and started in only half of them. Injuries played a big part in his lack of production, but that was far from the only reason. With Kyle Vanden Bosch signing with the Lions last week, this move comes as no big surprise.

Lions and Bears Interested in Lito Sheppard?

2010-03-08T20:33:01Z

More photos » Bill Kostroun - AP

FILE - In this Aug. 14, 2009, file photo, New York Jets' Lito Sheppard runs on the field before an NFL football preseason game. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun, File)

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Cornerback Lito Sheppard, who became a free agent after the Jets released him last week, is reportedly drawing interest from a pair of NFC North teams -- the Lions and, of course, the Bears. Here is what Pro Football Talk had to say about Sheppard earlier this afternoon:

We're told that two teams are in the mix for his services. Per a league source, the Detroit Lions and the Chicago Bears have expressed interest.

To date, no visits have been scheduled.

It will be interesting to see if anything develops on the Lito Sheppard front with the Lions. Detroit needs to rebuild the cornerback position this offseason, and one way they are going to do that is by trading for Chris Houston, assuming there are no snags with that deal. I would imagine that the Lions will also draft at least one cornerback in April because that position is pretty deep and if somebody like Kyle Wilson drops to the second round, I'd imagine Detroit would jump at the opportunity to select him.

Beyond that, I'm not sure what the Lions' plans are, specifically with free agents. In the report about the Houston trade we learned that the Lions pursued Dunta Robinson, so it's obvious they are exploring all options. Perhaps Sheppard is just merely one of those options and nothing will come of this report, but personally I would be for adding a player like Sheppard for the right price. Say what you want about the type of player he is now versus a couple years ago, but I think Sheppard is an upgrade over the corners currently on the roster. Plus, if it comes down to the Lions or Bears for Sheppard, I'd like to see him end up in Detroit so we don't have to play him twice a year and possibly regret missing out on him.