The Lions' rookie orientation wrapped up yesterday (full story on how that went coming up later), and the team ended up signing one of the tryouts, Canadian defensive end Chima Ihekwoaba. Ihekwoaba hails from Wilfrid Laurier and is the only tryout that ended up signing a deal thanks to his performance at the minicamp.
Ihekwoaba joins the list of undrafted free agents that have signed with the Lions, although right now I'm not exactly sure how many players are actually on that list. I say that because last week the Lions announced the signing of seven undrafted free agents. Two players that were missing from the list, Ryan Stamper and Randy Phillips, are listed as being signed by the Lions on the team's transactions page. Also, long snapper Sam Scroggins is not listed on the transactions page, but his name was included in the release on the signings.
I tend to believe the press release is more accurate than the transactions page, but if anything this confirms the Lions' intention to sign Stamper and Phillips. We learned last week that Stamper's deal was on hold because of an injury issue, and it appears that also is the case for Phillips, though Jim Schwartz declined to confirm anything one way or another.
Miami (Fla.) safety Randy Phillips has been standing on the sidelines, wearing a No. 39 jersey with his name on the back. But Phillips has not signed a contract – at least not yet – apparently because of an injury issue.
Coach Jim Schwartz declined to give much information.
"He’s with us right now," Schwartz said. "I think I’ll just leave it at that. He’s with us right now, and he’s not able to practice right now, so we’ll just see where that goes."
The team might want to update their transactions page since Stamper and Phillips have apparently not signed yet (and Sam Scroggins already has), but it does look like they will at some point. That's good news because both Stamper and Phillips have potential and play at positions that aren't exactly set depth-wise. It'd be way too premature to say much about their chances of making the team right now, but I think both could definitely compete for a spot on the roster during training camp.
UPDATE: John Niyo got word from Phillips' agent that his client failed a physical. Once he is healthy and cleared medically, Phillips should be able to sign with the team.