Apparently the Lions have started to evaluate the roster to determine who should and who shouldn't be back with the team next season. One of those players that won't be back is wide receiver Mike Furrey, who was informed yesterday that he will be released.
"(Mayhew) just called to say they were calling the guys they were releasing, and that was the gist of the conversation," Furrey said. "I said, 'Thanks' and that was it.
"The conversation was real brief. But I wasn't surprised at all. We butted heads toward the end of the season. And it's because I wanted to win. I was sick of losing, sick of going out on Sundays without a chance to win. And it had nothing to do with (coach Rod) Marinelli. I believe in him 100 percent. But I believe things just funneled down from the top, and I wanted to win as much as anybody else."
"I'm happy," he said. "I got the call right before we were boarding the plane yesterday to come to Tampa. And it's a burden off my back. I'm relaxed and I'm happy and I'm ready to go start a new career somewhere and help another team win a Super Bowl."
As you can tell by Furrey's statement on being released, he isn't the only one. It isn't known who the other players that will be released are just yet, but I'm sure we'll find out shortly. Players can't actually be released until February 9, but my guess is the players that will be released will alert the media in order to get their name out there for other teams to see.
As far as this move goes, I'm not entirely surprised since a new coaching staff is going to get rid of a lot of players, but Mike Furrey is a good guy both on and off the field. Remember, just a couple seasons ago he actually led the Lions in catches. Obviously playing in Mike Martz's system was part of why he had so much success, but he is a good backup wide receiver. Depth was needed at that position before this news came out, and now it especially is with Furrey gone.