With training camp officially getting started Thursday, the Lions were beginning to run out of time to sign their rookies.  Third-round pick Cliff Avril already signed earlier this month, but he was the only Lions rookie to do so; that is, until today.  Six other Lions rookies were signed to contracts today, meaning all but two have officially joined the team.  The six rookies that signed today are listed below.

Third-rounders: HB Kevin Smith (Central Florida), DT Andre Fluellen (Florida State)
Fifth-rounders: WR Kenneth Moore (Wake Forest), FB Jerome Felton (Furman)
Seventh-rounders: DT Landon Cohen (Ohio), LB Caleb Campbell (Army)

Including Avril, seven of the Lions' nine draft picks now have contracts.  That leaves offensive tackle Gosder Cherilus and linebacker Jordon Dizon as the only Lions rookies without deals.  I hope talks progress over night and into tomorrow as it's important to get every single rookie signed by the time training camp starts.  That way nobody has to miss any practice, which is especially vital for Cherilus and Dizon as they will contend for starting jobs.  Even one day missed is big as every second on the field counts.

Pride of Detroit will have the latest on any signings that happen, so keep checking back to see if Cherilus and Dizon get a deal done.

Cliff Avril, a former Purdue defensive end, became the first Lions rookie to sign a contract today.

The Detroit Lions have signed third-round pick Cliff Avril to a three-year deal, Scout.com has confirmed.

The former Purdue University defensive end will receive the following base salaries: (2008) $295,000 (2009) $385,000 (2010) $470,000 along with a signing bonus of $484,000.

We should see the rest of the draft class get inked to contracts in the next couple of weeks in order to ensure all rookies are able to attend training camp.

Lions wide receiver Roy Williams missed some recent organized team activities, causing speculation to stir about the reason behind his absence.  After all, he is in the final year of his contract with the Lions, so missing only one team-related thing opens the floodgates for speculation.  Some thought he was angry at the Lions, whereas others didn't think anything of it at all.  In the end, the latter of the two was the right line of thinking as Williams simply had some flight issues keeping him away from Detroit.

Williams blamed bad weather near his home in Texas for his absences last week.

“I tried to get here two days in a row, and I just wasn’t coming for one day,” he said. “I called the coaches. They knew where I was at. So it wasn’t a big deal.”

What about Monday?

“That was my fault,” he said. “I booked it wrong. I booked it on the second instead of the first.”

Williams said he liked to run in the Texas heat and come to Detroit for team work.

“I’m an OTA guy,” he said. “I want to be here OTAs.”

Williams did finally catch a flight to Detroit and is with the team now.  In Allen Park yesterday, he talked very candidly about his contract situation with the Lions.  Although no talks of an extension have happened yet, Roy seems very upbeat about the whole situation and would welcome a new deal to stay in Detroit.

"They can talk to me whenever they want to," Williams said. "I'm like 7-11, baby. I'm always open -- even on the field."

"I'm making a lot of money this year," Williams said. "You can look it up. They owe me $5.8 million this year. I'm not missing (practices) because I'm mad at the Detroit Lions. I'm missing because my flights (from his home in Texas) got canceled.

"The money's going to be there. It's a win-win situation. They owe me $5.8 million this year, and the franchise will be 9 or 10. That's $14 million in two years.

"Every player wants a deal done. I would love to play here for a long time. But if they don't want to get anything done, I just have to go along with the business."

It'll be interesting to see how long this attitude lasts should the Lions start losing and/or no talks of a new contract ever happen.  Although Roy probably would be ecstatic to not get a new contract if it meant he would leave Detroit, I would be shocked if he doesn't get the franchise tag.  Even so, like he said, "the money's going to be there."  Whether it is an extension with the Lions, a franchise tag contract, or simply a free agent deal, Roy is going to get paid.  That is for sure.

With any coaching change, winning usually takes time.  If anything, winning with your own players definitely takes time, and that has been evident for the Detroit Lions in Rod Marinelli's first two seasons as head coach.  When he took over this team, the roster was not only missing talent, but it also was missing his kind of players.  The transition into the Marinelli roster hasn't been easy and has had some surprises along the way, but it appears that the transition may finally be complete.

Although talent is undoubtedly the biggest aspect of a winning team, chemistry is just as important.  For the Lions, there really hasn't been a great team chemistry since Marinelli became the head coach.  That's not a slight against anyone; it's just the truth.  A Marinelli type of player is one that works hard day in and day out and always comes to practice, a team meeting, or a game ready for football.  Unfortunately for Coach Rod, his first two seasons produced a number of players that were complete opposites of that mold, making this transition harder than originally thought.

Charles Rogers, Mike Williams, and Shaun Rogers are just a few of the names that come to mind when thinking about players that didn't have the work ethic or attitude to mesh with Marinelli.  As a result, none of them are on this team anymore thanks to a trade or just simply being released.  What has caused this transition to take so long is that there were quite a few players like this, and it takes time to figure out which wants shouldn't be on the team.

It can be called addition by subtraction when players are traded and released, but there is the actual addition part of this whole deal.  Rod Marinelli has had to bring in players that fit his mold as well, and that's no easy task either.  The reason we've seen so many former Buccaneers come north to Detroit is simple.  Marinelli is familiar with those players and knows exactly what he's getting in terms of work ethic and attitude.  At the same time, that is why Detroit has to be careful when drafting or finding free agents.  Just take a look at Ernie Sims and Gosder Cherilus for proof of that.  Neither are necessarily big name players, but they both are hard workers with a fiery attitude.

If the Lions ever do become a winning franchise in the Marinelli era, it will happen because of attitude more than anything.  Obviously talent plays a pretty big part in all of this, but it is my belief that a team with the right attitude can go fairly far on that alone.  It helps to have players like Ernie Sims and Roy Williams that have the potential to go to the Pro Bowl on a yearly basis, but having the right mindset is equally vital to the future success of this team.  Heck, that's why the front office and ownership has been so incompetent.  They have the wrong attitude towards the fans, showing us why so little has been done to improve this franchise over the years.

The Detroit Lions released their 2008 mini-camp roster today, and directly below is the list of draft picks, rookie free agents, and other first or second year players participating in the event.

And here is the list of players trying out for the Lions:

In another move made to add depth to the running back position, the Lions signed Artose Pinner to a one-year deal yesterday.  Pinner was drafted by the Lions in 2003 before being cut prior to the 2006 season.  Quickly after being let go, Pinner ended up in Minnesota for a season and had the best game of his career against none other than the Lions.

Pinner bounced around from the Falcons to the Saints in 2007 before being out of football altogether.  That changed yesterday, though, as Detroit has brought him back for depth purposes.  It'll be interesting to see if he ends up making the team come September, but in the meantime, he will be a good player to have around.

Detroit also released guard Ben Noll on Monday.

According to NFL Draft Bible, which is the most reliable source I can find right now, the Lions have signed these four undrafted rookie free agents:

FS Bobbie Williams, Bethune-Cookman

OLB Tyronne Pruitt, Boston College

QB Mark Nicolet, Hillsdale

RB Allen Ervin, Lambuth

I have been able to confirm that everyone listed above has in fact signed with Detroit other than Boston College's Tyronne Pruitt.  I'm still working on that, but the other three have reportedly agreed to three-year unguaranteed deals.

UPDATE: According to Fantasy Football Live Wire, the Lions have also signed these three undrafted rookie free agents:

Lions LS Jonathan Weeks (Baylor)
Lions OL Matt Butler (East Carolina)*
Lions S Justin Sanders (Illinois) tryoutwork

Even though Rod Marinelli and Matt Millen have already said that they will not trade Roy Williams, it appears that the Lions' phones will still be ringing off the hook tomorrow.  Offers will likely come flooding in from Dallas and Philadelphia, and now it appears that Detroit should expect to hear from Washington  as well.

The Redskins have tried to trade their first-round pick, the 21st overall, for a top wide receiver, hoping to package the pick in a deal for Chad Johnson of the Cincinnati Bengals or another proven player at the position. Despite being rebuffed in their attempts to acquire Johnson and the Arizona Cardinals' Anquan Boldin, Snyder and Cerrato are determined to provide another high-profile target for Campbell and still might try to trade for Roy Williams of the Detroit Lions, according to league sources.

Detroit will listen to any and all offers, but when all is said and done I would say there is a 99% chance that Williams is still a Lion after this weekend.  The Lions want him to remain with the team for at least one more season, and then beyond 2008 is up in the air.  Discussion of what will happen once 2009 arrives can be left for another day, but for right now, I don't expect Roy to be on the move.

Detroit announced the signing of three restricted free agents today, bringing back some familiar faces to Detroit for another season.

All three are being brought back for depth purposes, although Peterman and Moore probably would get a decent amount of playing time with the way the roster looks right now.

For the time being, Tatum Bell is projected to be the Lions' starting running back going into the 2008 season.  That may be a scary thought to many considering Bell wasn't even active for a game beyond the first part of last season, but unfortunately this is the reality created by yet another questionable decision.  With Kevin Jones out of the picture after being released earlier this month, the Lions have to figure out what the future holds for the running back position.  2008 is important and can't be forgotten.  However, Detroit needs to start looking for a long-term plan now.

Looking at the running back position right now, there is Tatum Bell, Aveion Cason, and Brian Calhoun.  Out of those three, only Bell can honestly be considered as having the ability to start on a regular basis.  I'm not trying to ridicule Cason or Calhoun in saying that at all, but it's the truth.  Cason is a solid backup running back.  He can start every once and a while if needed and has done that in the past.  Still, he is not a viable option to be "the back" for the Lions.  The same goes for Calhoun, who really hasn't even had a chance to show anything in his first two seasons with the Lions.  Both of the previous two seasons have been ended early for Calhoun due to injuries, leaving him with very little in-game experience.

If the 2008 season began today, Tatum Bell would be starting at running back for the Lions.  Barring an injury, I don't see that changing from now until September as Detroit just doesn't have the resources, in my opinion, to find a starting running back in that span of time.  With the free agent backs that could start long gone, the Lions' only real remaining option is the draft next month.  Detroit holds the 15th overall pick of the draft and could very well use it on a RB. 

The running back position is very deep for this year's draft.  That gives teams in need of added depth for that position the ability to be somewhat flexible when it comes to the timing of selecting a RB.  Detroit doesn't have to use its first-round pick on a RB as there will still be good ones around going into the second-round and even the second day of the draft.  For the Lions, past drafts would suggest that if a running back is going to be taken, he will be selected in round one.  I say that because the Lions rarely use picks in the first-round for non-flashy positions, sans Ernie Sims two years ago.

Although Brian Calhoun was drafted in the third-round of the 2006 NFL Draft, he was not taken with the intention of finding a new starter at running back.  Calhoun was expected to come in and be a special teams player as well as a RB.  To find a starter, it is my guess that Detroit would not want to wait around until the second-round or beyond considering there is likely going to be a top-name RB available when the Lions go on the clock in the first-round.

This year's draft class has three big names at running back: Darren McFadden (Arkansas), Jonathan Stewart (Oregon), and Rashard Mendenhall (Illinois).  McFadden will not fall to pick 15, so immediately he is out of consideration.  Stewart and Mendenhall, on the other hand, both could still be available when Detroit goes on the clock.  Stewart has a lot of things going for him and just a few weeks ago would have been a solid pick for Detroit.  The reason I say he would have been is because he recently had surgery to repair a turf toe injury and will be out 4-6 months.  Some may suggest that a toe injury is nothing to worry about, and I do agree to some extent.  Still, the fact remains that Detroit just released its starting RB because of injury problems, and the last thing I want to see is another injured one joining the Lions.

The Lions will still probably take a long look at Stewart and could very well end up drafting him next month.  I personally don't like that move, though, so let's take a look at Illinois running back Rashard Mendenhall.  Mendenhall is the perfect example of your typical one-year wonder.  That's not necessarily a bad thing, but the reason Mendenhall has jumped up draft boards so much is largely because of one great season.  Don't get me wrong, he has shown many other attributes that make him worthy of the hype and high status on many draft boards, but I'm still not totally convinced.  Again, he will be given a look and could be drafted by the Lions.  There's no question in that.  Personally, my opinion remains the same with Mendenhall, meaning I think it would be a bad move to draft him in the first-round.

If the Lions truly are looking for a franchise running back that can be the starter for year's to come, then drafting one in the first round is the right type of thinking.  It isn't, however, the only road to go down.  As stated previously, this year's draft class is very deep at RB, giving the Lions the ability to wait until the second-round to draft that position.  The talent drop off may seem big after the big three discussed above, but I really don't see it that way at all.  When Detroit is on the clock in round two, there will still be many running backs that could join the Lions this year and see playing time.  I won't go as far as saying they would be able to start as that is tough for any rookie to do.  I will, though, say that if Tatum Bell completely disappointed everyone, then it wouldn't hurt having a talented backup not named Cason or Calhoun.

For an idea of who is out there after McFadden, Stewart, and Mendenhall, here are the RB rankings from SB Nation's own Matt Miller (number is overall rank):

28.  Felix Jones (Arkansas)
30.  Jamaal Charles (Texas)
48.  Matt Forte (Tulane)
51.  Kevin Smith (Central Florida)
59.  Chris Johnson (East Carolina)
84.  Steve Slaton (West Virginia)
86.  Tashard Choice (Georgia Tech)
94.  Mike Hart (Michigan)

Out of all those names, the one I would keep my eye on most is Matt Forte.  Why?  I'll let the Chicago Sun-Times explain.

Regardless of who is selected and when, I think one thing we all can agree on is that the Lions have to draft a running back at the draft next month.  There is just no way Bell, Cason, and Calhoun make for enough depth at that position, and looking down the road to 2009, running back will be completely void of any players capable of starting.