Lions Lose Lydon Murtha to Dolphins

by Sean Yuille on Oct 20, 2009 7:10 PM EDT in Detroit Lions Roster

One of the dangers of having a player on the practice squad is the possibility of losing him to another team. The obvious positive about having a player on the practice squad is that you can continue to develop him and activate him to the main roster if an injury or something else happens. The obvious negative is that every other NFL team can try to sign him to their active roster. That doesn't happen too often, but it did today, and the Lions were on the negative side of it.

The Dolphins signed offensive tackle Lydon Murtha to their 53-man roster from the Lions' practice squad. Murtha was a seventh-round pick and was one of only two draft picks not already on Detroit's active roster. He, Dan Gronkowski, and Zack Follett all started the season on the practice squad, and Follett was recently activated and essentially called up to the active roster. While Murtha probably wasn't going to be brought up to the active roster in the immediate future, he was developing on the practice squad. He has great athleticism and raw talent, and it was obvious from the time he was drafted that his development would take some time. Obviously the Dolphins feel that he has come far enough to warrant a spot on their active roster, and now the Lions won't get a chance to continue to watch him develop.

Losing a player like this is sort of a kick between the legs. Obviously Murtha isn't going to pass up the chance to be signed to an active roster, but at the same time, you almost want to boot someone and offer him a deal just to hang on to him. The Lions didn't think he was going to get into the offensive line rotation in the immediate future considering he was still on the practice squad, but even so, I'm sure they would have liked to hold on to all of their draft picks.

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Wow... that sucks.

I’ve heard that he was starting to look good too.

by DrewsLions on Oct 20, 2009 7:42 PM EDT reply actions

Heard from who?

Let’s see how well he picks up the “Wildcat” offense…I dont think he’ll pan out.

by Brefstink on Oct 21, 2009 7:23 AM EDT up reply actions

Lion's beat writers... Killer and BVO

by DrewsLions on Oct 21, 2009 12:49 PM EDT up reply actions

This is a big mistake

Lydon Murtha was the best offensive tackle at the combine…..he had injury issues in Nebraska, but all he needed was time to condition his muscles and develop and he would have been a dominant LT along the lines of Joe Thomas (in my opinion). I think this loss will come back to haunt Detroit, as it usually does when we let a player with such great potential leave (Ray Crockett, William White, Jeff Hartings, and the list goes on and on). I am disappointed that we lost Murtha.

by KDawg on Oct 21, 2009 2:59 PM EDT up reply actions

For the comments later in this thread that speak of the need to draft a LT in round 1 next year.....

I tend to agree, but the only reason Murtha’s name was not right in there along with Jason Smith, Andre Smith, and Eugene Monroe is because of his injury history. If he had been healthy the entire time at Nebraska, he would have been a 1st round pick.

by KDawg on Oct 21, 2009 3:06 PM EDT up reply actions

Maybe even the first LT taken in the draft......

by KDawg on Oct 21, 2009 3:08 PM EDT up reply actions

LMAO

The strongest guy at the combine needs to “condition his muscles” …OK, right?!

He’s never gonna be dominant ala Joe Thomas (IMO). But he could have been a good player in time. Probably better at run blocking than pass, which is why Fins took a chance on him.

Muscles and talent dont always mean greatness…if that was the case Brock Lesnar would have made the Vikes.

Murtha certainly didnt need time to condition his muscles! ROFLMAO

by Brefstink on Oct 22, 2009 10:56 AM EDT up reply actions

You misunderstaood what I was saying.....

I was talking about his injuries…..and then I said he needed time to condition his muscles. I was implying that he needed to condition his muscles in the areas where he was injured, namely his knees. By strengthening the leg muscles around the knee, you reduce the chances of injury.

by KDawg on Oct 22, 2009 3:38 PM EDT up reply actions

BTW....

Lesnar definitely has the muscle…..but he did not have the talent to be a pro football player, and I would bet that an argument could be made that he was not coordinated enough to play football either (balance and strength do not necessarily constitute coordination). He was a great wrestler (national champion multiple times, All-American) in college, but he was good at that because of his sheer strength and wrestling ability. Those things did not transfer to the football field, at least for Lesnar (he never played football in college, just like Stephen Neal (who is now an offensive lineman for NE), who beat Lesnar for the National title in wrestling in 1999). Stephen Neal did have the talent, strength, and athletic ability to play professional football (obviously). Lesnar was a trouble maker with the Vikings, often starting fights and drawing criticism. He was a late cut, and declined the invitation to play in the Viking’s NFL Europe program.

I am a fan of Lesnar in MMA……he is a monster who I would never want to fight. However, I see a more flexible and coordinated fighter beating him eventually…..maybe even Shane Carwin.

by KDawg on Oct 22, 2009 3:54 PM EDT up reply actions

Great!!!

You cant tell me this guy cant be any worse than Jeff "get knocked on my Backus!!!
We screwed the pooch on this one. We should have made some effort to keep him.

Oh well.

by ABN_MI_fan on Oct 20, 2009 8:22 PM EDT reply actions

+1,000,000,000,000

by BennieBladesFan on Oct 20, 2009 8:39 PM EDT up reply actions

Ya that's what I'm sayin..

Nice, the only fn OL we drafted, one of the major weaknesses of the Offense. they shoulda drafted some top OL & waited ‘til thise year to get a QB, I friggin knew it. They need to get some DB help 2, Delmas was a step in the right direction,l but can’t do it all himself, Henry’s been farely solid. DL to major problems, still needs some tweakage, we’re brown shwaggin it again this year. I sure hope they don’t ruin Turkey Day, by playin like they did last Sunday. But, Murtha was a stud @ the combine & you know if the Big Tuna had his eye on him he’s gonna be good, there’s a smart GM started rebuilding with a Good OT, J Long U o’M, then got their guy last year, although Henne hasn’t looked to bad, formwer U o’M guy as well. Isn’t he

by LTownDown on Oct 20, 2009 11:08 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

Ouch

Originally I was dissapointed to hear this, but not exactly heartbroken. Excellent and extremely scary comment about the GM that brought him in though. Parcels has always had an excellent eye for talent and the fact that the Dolphins like him enough to throw him on the active roster leaves a sour taste in my mouth.
Please don’t let this be the next player we have to hear about on ESPN before the draft! As in “Lydon Murtha was drafted in the 7th round…every pick counts!” Every time I hear one of those I cringe at the fact that the Lions have done zip-zero-zilch with their mid-to-late round picks the last decade or so.

by Mushy on Oct 21, 2009 2:42 PM EDT up reply actions

Unfortunate

Good luck to him. (Just not to much though).

2009 = The start of the Lions Golden Age (We hope).

by Hyperion Ecta on Oct 20, 2009 8:37 PM EDT reply actions

i'll second that

now that he’s not on the Lions… (not to much either)

GO LIONS 2009! the transformation begins.

by DINORDO on Oct 21, 2009 9:39 AM EDT up reply actions

We should

bounce Fitzsimmons and add Gron to the active roster. He has more upside than Fitzy does IMO not to mention It would prevent this from happening again in the future.

by Usmarine0341 on Oct 20, 2009 9:05 PM EDT reply actions

I'd like to know how another team

even knows how good he is? Do they send spies to practice? It seems like the only way to know about him is through rumor or guessing.

by HoorayForEverything on Oct 20, 2009 9:41 PM EDT reply actions

Well, since he’s a rookie this year, they Dolphins probably thoroughly scouted him less than a year ago (along with the hundreds of other prospects teams thoroughly scout leading up to the draft).

Maybe they wanted him, but not quite enough to spend a draft pick on him, but maybe they need depth at tackle more than we do (We already have two backup tackles and two starting tackles), so they thought he’d have more upside than anyone on their practice squad.

It does suck for us, losing a development guy, but we’ve got to either give a roster spot to somebody or let him have the chance to go to someone else who will.

I do kinda wish teams had a “first right of refusal” with their own practice squad, where if the Dolphins wanted to claim Murtha, the Lions would at least have the opportunity to shift around their roster and make room for him on the active roster immediately, if they wanted to, rather than just losing the guy they spent a draft pick on.

But I guess if they wanted him on the roster, if the coaches thought he was better for the team right now than one of the other 53 guys, he’d already be signed.

I hope this ends up being a blessing in disguise—maybe losing Murtha makes us more likely to look for an ultimately better future OT in next year’s draft.

by n4ry4 on Oct 21, 2009 8:00 AM EDT up reply actions

thankful

its sucks just make me glad we didn’t lose follet

by The Profiler on Oct 20, 2009 10:42 PM EDT reply actions

Why So High On Follet?

by BennieBladesFan on Oct 20, 2009 10:56 PM EDT up reply actions

+100

I know the guy has some good highlights and a neat nickname, but really, why the excitement?

by NorthLeft12 on Oct 21, 2009 8:57 AM EDT up reply actions

Ugh

That sucks. Thats the business side of the game. Good luck to him.
So technically speaking, this makes 9 out of 10 picks for Mayhew this past draft doing something in the NFL.

by JazzyBBP on Oct 20, 2009 11:19 PM EDT reply actions

this is true hopr gronk will be on the 53 soon

Just Remember matt... what would Daunte do??

by det32 on Oct 20, 2009 11:58 PM EDT up reply actions

You've got to really suck

to not make this team if you were drafted last year. Think about it. And it’s also not much of an accomplishment to hit on all your draft picks if you are Mayhew, because these players HAD to make the team.

Let’s see how they do in this years draft before we start kissing his feet…

by Brefstink on Oct 21, 2009 10:42 AM EDT up reply actions

To be fair

We did bring in quite a few new OL in the offseason, namely Salaam and Jansen.

Pride of Detroit, SB Nation's Lions Blog

by Sean Yuille on Oct 21, 2009 11:20 AM EDT up reply actions

Agreed.

But just think how Miami is reacting to this. You just signed a guy that couldn’t make the Lions roster…!

Of course it will probably end up just the opposite and Murtha will go on to be a pro bowl OT, but what else is new.

by Mushy on Oct 21, 2009 2:44 PM EDT up reply actions

murtha

that sucks….all the more reason why next year’s number one pick should be a left tackle.

by big smoove on Oct 20, 2009 11:59 PM EDT reply actions

next time we play them ....

this will be another lost player that has a career game against us…always seems to happen…except for us in reverse

marc hoople

by spinitnow on Oct 21, 2009 3:31 AM EDT reply actions

Yeah, I don't want to see him have a career day against us at home on Thanksgiving in the future

by n4ry4 on Oct 21, 2009 8:03 AM EDT up reply actions

It is too bad we will not get to see Murtha develop but......

I don’t understand why people thought he was the heir apparent to Backus. We need an LT to be picked early next draft regardless of whether Murtha stuck around or not.

We also need DTs, CBs, DEs, a safety [or two], and depth just about everywhere.

by NorthLeft12 on Oct 21, 2009 9:01 AM EDT reply actions

Murtha Makes Sense for the Dolphins

I’m a Dolphins fan but of coarse I still root for my home team. The Dolphins need depth at tackle. There really isn’t anyone there in case our boy from Lapeer Long gets hurt. I really wish the Lions would improve their O line. Stafford would be amazing if he wasn’t under so much pressure all the time, not to mention the running game could get going. Oh well… GO LIONS!

by jim_dangler on Oct 21, 2009 2:19 PM EDT reply actions

Cherry picking

by other teams needs to be stopped by the N.F.L. Change the policy so teams can protect their investments. I still think rosters need to be expanded and that practice ( development ) squads be hands off by other teams. Injuries are killing us and in house promotions are far better to continuity within a team than the revolving door of waiver wire and tryout players we’re seeing…

by Keevatron on Oct 21, 2009 4:15 PM EDT reply actions

lions

LIONS SUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!

by dbjharley56 on Oct 22, 2009 12:37 AM EDT reply actions

It's a new record

Banned after only one comment.

Pride of Detroit, SB Nation's Lions Blog

by Sean Yuille on Oct 22, 2009 1:18 AM EDT up reply actions

lol

2009 = The start of the Lions Golden Age (We hope).

by Hyperion Ecta on Oct 22, 2009 7:10 AM EDT up reply actions

Now we will have to start timing how long it takes you to ban these types of morons.....

To establish a new record….lol

by KDawg on Oct 22, 2009 3:39 PM EDT up reply actions

Wow

He just joined today, was a member for only 1 minute when he posted……and got banned 41 minutes later……after posting 2 words. That’s hard to beat. They were the wrong 2 words, though, at the wrong time, in the wrong context. Bad way to start here. I support the decision.

What? He can’t block a dead gopher? Humph, details.

by GRLion on Oct 22, 2009 9:08 PM EDT up reply actions