OT: Lions release their top Corner after signing him to a big deal just last year

[hebs]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000358462/article/chris-houston-released-by-detroit-lions

Chris Houston was the best cornerback in Detroit from 2010-2012, and was rewarded with a five-year, $25 million contract last offseason. Injuries struck, and now he'll only see one year of that deal.

The Lions released Houston Friday, noting his toe surgery this offseason.


"Chris Houston underwent a significant medical procedure this spring," the Lions said in a statement. "Both parties felt that the best course of action at this time is to release Chris and allow him to rehabilitate his injury away from the Club. The Lions appreciate Chris' contributions over the years and wish him the best in his recovery."

The Lions signed first round pick Eric Ebron on Friday, and we expected to see an accompanying move to free up some salary cap space. We did not expect to see Houston jettisoned; he's been a starter for his entire seven-year career, including four years in Detroit. But Houston's worst season was 2013, and the Lions clearly weren't confident that he would be ready to play his best this year. Houston's agent said his client will be ready for the season.

The secondary continues to look like a problem in Detroit, especially considering the great wide receivers in the NFC North. Darius Slay, Rashean Mathis, and Bill Bentley should be the team's top trio at cornerback.

To think they could have had one of the top corners in the draft and instead went with a tight end. Looks like a shoot out brewing against them this year.

 

[modo]

They are trying to motivate their offense by completely gutting the D.......sort of like Cortez burning his ships in the new world....

 

[geneatals]

Not
For
Long

 

[Kekua Zombie]

Carimi's dad told Houston not to rehab with the team.

 

[Penny Traitor]

Yeah....that TE in the first looks more and more brilliant by the week.

Keep doing you Detroit.

 

[BaBaBlacksheep]

Nice to see that in a league dominated by change you can always count on the Lions to stay the same.

 

[Mitchapalooza]

Lions gonna Lion.

 

[Sentinel]

They DEFINITELY should take taken Fuller.

Instead they drafted another player for Stafford to throw side-arm ducksnorts to.

What idiots.

 

[JesusHalasChrist]

They DEFINITELY should take taken Fuller.

Instead they drafted another player for Stafford to throw side-arm ducksnorts to.

What idiots.

more like they drafted another player to stand around watching Megatron drop the ball when all the money's on the table.

 

[Runruffshod75]

They DEFINITELY should take taken Fuller.

Instead they drafted another player for Stafford to throw side-arm ducksnorts to.

What idiots.

That's what I had thought or at least one of the other other CB's available. Aren't they moving to a base 3-4 also? The CB & OLB positions are everything in a base 3-4. I'm not sure if they're moving to a straight up 2 gap 3-4 defense or a hybrid but in either system good CB's are a must.

I have a hard time knocking anybody who was picking around the 10th pick in the draft for taking Ebron though. That kid is going to be a weapon, & the Lions did need to get someone else besides C.J. on that offense to consistently produce. I never saw the big deal with Pettigrew outside of 2010 & 2011.

 

[Runruffshod75]

Kind of makes me wonder if the don't make run at bringing in Flowers now that he's out of KC.

 

[hyatt151]

more like they drafted another player to stand around watching Megatron drop the ball when all the money's on the table.

DETROIT -- Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson has had two surgeries this offseason, one to clear out his ailing knees and one to fix an injured finger.

Detroit general manager Martin Mayhew first told the team's official reporter and MLive.com about the surgeries.

[+] EnlargeCalvin Johnson
Tim Fuller/USA TODAY SportsAfter falling 8 yards shy of being the first receiver to have three straight 1,500-yard seasons, Calvin Johnson has had two offseason surgeries.

Johnson dealt with injuries all season, from a pair of knee injuries that kept him out of two separate games and at least one practice per week, to the finger that Mayhew said was not pointing straight.

"He played the entire season where the finger was really pointing perpendicular from his body," Mayhew told MLive.com on Wednesday. "He's trying to catch the ball [awkwardly]. He would never complain about that, but that was certainly a factor I think in the way he played."

He had a career-high nine drops this season.

The 28-year-old still managed to catch 84 passes for 1,492 yards and 12 touchdowns this season. His yardage was fourth in the NFL and he was 17th in receptions. In 14 games, he came 8 yards shy of being the first receiver to have three straight 1,500-yard seasons. He has now compiled four straight 1,000-yard seasons.



You're such a fucking dolt.

 

[hebs]

Kind of makes me wonder if the don't make run at bringing in Flowers now that he's out of KC.

I haven't checked their cap #'s lately but I thought they were kinda strapped for cash. They didn't even sign Ebron until they released Houston. I'm kinda curious what kinda money Flowers will demand on the open market.

 

[hebs]

Just checked and it looks like they only have $1,133,418 in salary cap. They'd probably have to release a few others or restructure someone's (Suh) deal in order to pick him up.