Friday Notes: Kevin Smith, Brandon Pettigrew Show Progress by Participating in OTA

• Both Kevin Smith and Brandon Pettigrew took part in the individual drills at the Lions' OTA on Thursday.  Neither participated in the team drills, but the fact that they are even on the field is a good sign.  Also a good sign is that both players expect to be ready for training camp, especially Kevin Smith.
  

  When Smith was asked if he would be fully healthy for training camp around the end of July, he said: "Is my name Kevin Smith? There's your answer."

  Obviously they still have a ways to go in their recovery, but Jim Schwartz is hopeful that Smith and Pettigrew won't have many limitations once training camps gets started.
• Jack Williams, another player who is recovering from a torn ACL, also got on the field on Thursday.  On the other hand, Ko Simpson, who had microfracture surgery, did not participate.
• John Niyo has a good rundown of tidbits from yesterday's OTA, including a look at who was starting at some positions of interest (hint: Zack Follett was in the starting lineup).
• Pacman Jones has agreed to a two-year deal with the Bengals.  I guess all that debate about bringing him in was all for naught in the end, because Cincinnati made a move to get him instead.
• It doesn't sound like the Lions will have four quarterbacks on the roster for training camp, meaning Drew Stanton's job as the third-string QB appears to be safe.  The reason for only having three QBs would be that the Lions need to use that extra spot for another position.  On top of that, the coaches want the three QBs already on the roster to get all of the reps, so barring an injury, I don't think we should expect to see a QB not named Stafford, Hill, or Stanton during training camp.
• One of the things I focused on before the draft was which players the Lions brought in for visits, thinking there would be a connection with who visits and who is ultimately selected.  Well, it turns out there's no connection whatsoever, because of all the players the Lions brought in for visits, only Ndamukong Suh was drafted.  What's more, none of the players the Lions picked played in the Senior Bowl.  The Lions probably wanted a few players they coached or coached against in the game, but in the end none of the picks were from the Senior Bowl.

(More after the jump)

• Jay-Z gave some good advice to Ndamukong Suh about not letting money change the kind of person you are.
• To protect himself from head injuries, Jahvid Best has switched helmets.
• Jim Schwartz was interviewed for a piece called "Coach Spotlight."
• Tony Scheffler participated in his first OTA with the Lions earlier this week.
• The Lions released a statement about the passing of Ernie Harwell, who served as an honorary captain for last season's home-opener.
• Ty at The Lions in Winter put together a great piece on Bob Karmelowicz.
• Detroit4Lyfe has the story of how Zack Follett was picked up by a cop... for a ride to Allen Park from the airport.
• Cliff Avril thinks Ndamukong Suh looks like a beast and believes all of these additions to the defensive line will make everybody better, especially his end position.
• Sammie Hill is also a big fan of the new faces on the defensive line.
• Kevin Smith didn't sound too concerned by the addition of Jahvid Best, stressing that both of them will have their own roles in the offense.
• I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Mike Williams got his career turned around in Seattle with his former college coach, Pete Carroll.  Williams sounds like he gets it now, which was never the case during his time in Detroit.  Part of that, as Williams said, was because he didn't "think it was a good marriage."  He had issues of his own and the Lions' lack of a plan for him didn't make things any better.
• It looks like the Williams Wall in Minnesota may finally have to serve their four-game suspension.  If they serve it at the start of the season, their suspension will keep them out for the Lions' first game against the Vikings (at the Metrodome in Week 3).
• The summer of Favre part III has basically already begun.  Last week there was a report that Brett Favre will need ankle surgery to play football again, and that was followed up by a separate report that Favre told a teammate after last season that he was 100% done.  My guess: Favre shows up to Minnesota just as training camp is winding down.  What Favre said right after taking a beating and losing in the NFC championship game is probably going to be much different compared to what he thinks in the middle of July with nothing going on.  Until the season starts and there is no Favre, I won't ever believe that he's retired, and quite honestly I don't think it will even come to that this year.  I expect him to be back once enough of training camp is already over.
• Tarvaris Jackson signed his tender just in case Favre does decide to retire once and for all.
• Former Lions cornerback Will James has reportedly agreed to a deal with the 49ers.
• The Nashville area (including the Titans' stadium) has been underwater due to an unimaginable amount of rain, and other parts of the country are forced to rebuild because of tornadoes.  For information on how to help the people affected by these weather disasters, click here.