Detroit Lions Notes

Lions notes: Former player calls Matt Patricia Bill Belichick’s ‘little protégé’

Matt Patricia has a lot of fans in the Patriots’ locker room.

By Jeremy Reisman@DetroitOnLion Jan 8, 2018, 6:32pm EST

NFL: New York Jets at New England Patriots

One of the concerns some have raised with Detroit Lions head coaching candidate Matt Patricia is his temperamental facade and how it may relate to player relationships. However, former Patriot Brandon Spikes spoke glowingly of Patricia, noting how he went above and beyond as a mentor off the field.

Patricia talked with the media on Monday and spoke about his interviews from last week, calling them “informative.” However, he failed to give any real updates on how they went.

The Lions have a new defensive end on their roster, signing former Brown Cam Johnson to a futures contract on Monday. Here are his athletic scores from his 2012 combine:

#RAS/QIB of new #Lions DE/OLB Cam Johnson, signed to a futures deal earlier today pic.twitter.com/DlcZkYrfjf
— Erik Schlitt (@erikschlitt) January 8, 2018

Bleacher Report’s Brandon Thorn ranked all 104 defensive tackles that got significant playing time in 2017. The Detroit Lions had four players make the list, but none cracked the top 60. (And, yes, No. 1 is exactly who you think it is.)

Former Lions backup quarterback Kellen Moore has retired as a player. However, he has already snagged himself an NFL coaching job:

Kellen Moore to retire from playing, become new Cowboys QB coach https://t.co/NWpZaI5I6T pic.twitter.com/EKnYpmjrDM
— Alex Marvez (@alexmarvez) January 6, 2018

Punter Sam Martin called his disappointing 2017 season “very, very, very frustrating.” But claims not to have any worries about his career going forward and has “every intention of getting back to myself.”

Catching up from last week, a few Lions players were fined for their conduct in the season finale against the Packers (no word on if Matthew Stafford was fined for hurling the ball into the upper deck):

A couple Lions fines from last week: Quandre Diggs was fined $9,115 for his low block penalty and Darius Slay was fined $12,154 for unsportsmanlike conduct. Slay pretended like he was shooting a gun (Call of Duty, I believe he said) after his INT.
— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) January 6, 2018