Friday Notes: Lions Sign Andy McCollum, Nick Jones

by Sean Yuille on Aug 1, 2008 2:36 AM EDT in Notes Comment 0 comments

The Lions got back to their normal routine on Thursday as they practiced in pads in the morning and shells in the afternoon. This comes a day after Rod Marinelli had them in shells during both practices as he felt the team needed a day without full contact.
Two centers, Andy McCollum and Nick Jones, were signed to one-year deals by the Lions on Thursday. To make room on the roster, guard Matt Butler and tackle Chris Patrick were released. McCollum and Jones were brought in as Dominic Raiola isn't 100% healthy, so added depth is needed. On top of that, whichever players filled in for Raiola when he missed practice earlier this week did a horrendous job at center, prompting the Lions to go find some true centers.
Don't forget that the Lions are hosting "Black & Blue Fan Day" tomorrow, which includes an open scrimmage. I plan on being in attendance, so expect a full report on what I saw as well as a ton of pictures and some video to be posted on Sunday. As it turns out, the Lions reportedly will not have practice at all on Sunday, so I will fill the void with a look at Saturday's scrimmage.
The Broncos released safety John Lynch today in what is being called a mutual split. There was some early speculation that the Lions might be interested in bringing Lynch in since he is a former Buccaneer, but Detroit has no interest in him. That makes sense since they have enough safeties already.
Daniel Bullocks' injury is progressing, but the Lions don't want to rush him back too soon.
Roy Williams is glad the Lions are going to run the ball more as he believes defenders will concentrate less on him and Calvin Johnson.
New Lions cornerback Brian Kelly knows the Tampa-2 pretty well considering he's played in that system basically his entire career.
Kevin Smith did a nice job in a blocking drill. Also, he actually tried to check the Lions' depth chart on their website but didn't realize each position is listed in alphabetical order.
Tom Kowalski believes the Lions could have as many as 10 defensive linemen on the active roster when the season starts. I agree with him, as shown in my first roster prediction.
The Steelers signed former Lions returner/receiver Eddie Drummond.
The Brett Favre saga is getting more and more entertaining every day that goes by, but it should be known the Lions have zero interest in him. I don't think that's an issue anyways since Favre probably has zero interest in playing for the Lions.