Offensive lineman Damien Woody, who was a member of the Detroit Lions the past four seasons, has signed with the New York Jets.
The team owned by Woody Johnson has signed Lions free-agent tackle Damien Woody to a five-year, $25.5 million contract, according to Adam Schefter of NFL Network.
Per Schefter, Woody will receive $11 million in guaranteed money.
Woody has a rough career in Detroit as his weight had been a concern up until this season. There was some talk before the 2007 season that he would actually be cut if he couldn't get his weight under control, but unlike Shaun Rogers, that was all the incentive Woody needed to get in shape. He spent the offseason a year ago at Duke to go through a weight loss program that proved to be effective as he did drop quite a few pounds.
Once the weight came off, the on-field results just weren't very good. Woody was benched last season before starting again towards the end of the year at right tackle. His normal position is guard, but due to injuries the Lions were forced to move him to the outside and Woody did actually play much better.
Leaving Detroit is no surprise as Woody didn't appear to enjoy his stay here. On top of that, there is no way the Lions would have given him that big of a contract, so in the end this looks to be a mutual breakup. Detroit will have to fill the void created by Woody's exit, and my guess is that they do that in the draft.