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- Jim Caldwell spoke with the media on Wednesday during breakfast of the annual meetings. In typical Caldwell fashion, he didn't reveal much, but he did speak on topics that have been lingering since he last spoke publicly. On DeAndre Levy's injury recovery:
Caldwell has no doubt that DeAndre Levy will return to form. "There’s no question he’s going to help us tremendously"
— Kyle Meinke (@kmeinke) March 23, 2016 - Caldwell also spoke about his final few conversation with Calvin Johnson before he announced his retirement. Caldwell reiterated that Calvin deliberated this decision long and hard. "He weighed out all those options. He talked to the family members, agent, you name it. He did a thorough examination, but most importantly did a thorough examination of himself and made a decision I thought was best for him," Caldwell said.
- Many believe the Detroit Lions need to upgrade their offensive line, Caldwell briefly addressed those concerns:
Caldwell says Riley Reiff was good last season, remains team's starting left tackle.
— Kyle Meinke (@kmeinke) March 23, 2016Caldwell asked if he's comfortable with Travis Swanson being Lions starting center: "Sure, if he proves it."
— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) March 23, 2016
- Moving on from Caldwell, ESPN managed to catch up with Levy, asking him to explain why he went public with his striking criticisms of the NFL. Levy responded, "I want that to be clear. I made a choice to continue playing knowing the risks. I want future generations to enjoy it too without any unnecessary risks. I’m getting excited for the upcoming season."
- The Lions were present at the University of Texas' pro day on Wednesday:
Detroit Lions DL coach Kris Kocurek working out the lineman at Texas pic.twitter.com/X1isLPaDwx
— Anwar Richardson (@AnwarRichardson) March 23, 2016
- Martha Ford was at the meetings in Florida as well, but mostly skirted the media. However, she apparently thinks Matthew Stafford is "the best."
- The Los Angeles Rams will be featured on "Hard Knocks" this year.
- The league and the players association are butting heads again:
Filed to ESPN: Negotiations b/n the NFL and NFLPA over revised player discipline policy have taken a "massive step backwards," per union.
— Jim Trotter (@JimTrotter_NFL) March 23, 2016