Notes: Detroit Lions players spend week giving back to community

With several Detroit Lions in town for voluntary workouts, some have decided to use that opportunity to give back to the local community. This week, in particular, seemed to be a popular one for players to flex their benevolent muscle.

First, Sam Martin, Michael Roberts, Andre Chachere, and Jerome Cunningham visited the Macomb Special Olympics at Macomb Community College on Wednesday to show their support and give their encouragement. DetroitLions.com has a video of the event.

Additionally, the Detroit Lions and Kroger sponsored an event that distributed 700 bags of food to the Fisher Magnet Academy, a public school in Detroit. Lions veteran Lomas Brown, as well as several Lions cheerleaders and Roary, attended the event, teaching students the qualities it takes to be a leader. They also provided two teachers with $5,000 gift cards to help keep the school stocked with all the necessities for the kids.

Finally, a big shoutout goes to Lions linebacker Devon Kennard. Will Burchfield of 971theticket.com has a great story about how Kennard established $10,000 in scholarships for the Midnight Golf Program, an after-school program to help serve underprivileged students. This week, after days of reading through essays and even reviewing some of the applicants’ grades, Kennard awarded two scholarships in person. That sort of personal touch is the kind of above-and-beyond effort we’ve seen out of Kennard dating back to his days in New York.

• Darius Slay is going to miss Ezekiel Ansah, who is expected to sign with the Seahawks:

• If you’re looking for more information on the Lions’ UDFA class, the Detroit Free Press has some contract details for a handful of the Lions’ 13 signings.

• Congrats to Herman Moore for being named the 2019 Alumnus of the Year:

• Nate Atkins of MLive tries to nail down the three strongest and weakest positions on the Lions’ current roster.

• Lions sixth-round rookie Ty Johnson was a big-play machine in college, posting an almost-historic 7.6 yards per attempt in Maryland:

• T.J. Hockenson is already signed to his rookie deal, but less than half of first-round picks had come to an agreement by Friday morning: