The Lions have released Anthony Bryant.  He will be no loss as he only played in 4 games last season and he made 8 tackles and recovered a fumble.

The Lions have signed Darnell Sanders to a contract.  He’s been on the Falcons the last three seasons but he’s only played in 2 games and hasn’t caught a pass.  Sanders looks the part as he’s big and fast, but he’s just not a good football player so he should fit in very well on the Lions.

The Lions have signed Edwin Mulitalo (3 years) and Zach Piller (1 year) to help out with the porous interior of the Lions offensive line.  Both of these guys missed a lot of time due to injury and that’s why the Lions got a good deal for each of them.  Mulitalo only played in 4 games (all starts) for the Baltimore Ravens last season.  Over his 8 year career, he has played in 106 games and started 102 of them.  He is known as a player with a nasty streak that is a good run blocker at 6’3″, 350 pounds.  Piller only played in 3 games (all starts) for the Tennessee Titans last season.  He also has played 8 seasons in the NFL and he’s played in 87 games (58 starts).  He is also a very big player at 6’5″, 321 pounds.  These were good signings for the Lions.

The Lions have signed Travis Fisher to a 1-year contract.  He played in 9 games last season for the Rams and he made 29 tackles and defensed 1 pass.  Fisher could be in line to replace Dre’ Bly at corner for the Lions.

The Lions have signed WR Shaun McDonald to a two year contract.  McDonald played for Mike Martz in St. Louis and he likes the speedy receiver.  McDonald played in all 16 games last season and he caught 13 passes for 136 yards (10.5 avg) with 1 TD.  He also returned 23 punts for 172 yards (7.5 avg).  Look for McDonald to have his best season as a Pro as he will likely be the #3 wideout for the Lions this season.

The Lions have signed T.J. Duckett to a one year, $1.5 million dollar contract.  Duckett wasn’t used much on the Redskins last season as he played in 10 games and carried the ball 38 times for 132 yards (3.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 2 passes for 16 yards (8.0 avg).  The Lions will probably use Duckett the same way the Falcons did early in his career.  That would be short yardage and goal line offense because of his size and running style.  Over his 5 year career, Duckett has played in 65 games (13 starts) and he has carried the football 590 times for 2,307 yards (3.9 ypc) with 33 TD runs.  He also has caught 31 passes for 249 yards (8.0 avg).  This was a good signing for the Lions as Duckett will provide good depth at running back.  He also could start if the Lions trade Tatum Bell in the off season.

The Lions have re-signed a player for each the offense and the defense.  RB Aveion Cason played in 6 games last season for the Lions (2 starts) and he carried the ball 24 times for 94 yards (3.9 ypc).  He also caught 5 passes for 26 yards (5.2 avg).  Cason will be a decent back up running back for the Lions this season.

Defensive tackle Cleveland Pinkney has also re-signed with the Lions.  He played in 8 games for them and made 8 tackles.  He will provide the Lions with depth along the line on defense, but little else.

The Lions have re-signed reserve DE Corey Smith.  He played in 8 games last season for the Lions and he made 11 tackles, had 2 sacks and forced 2 fumbles.  This was a good signing for the Lions as Smith looks like he’s a decent defensive end.

Coach Marinelli decided to bring in a player from his days in Tampa to help fill a need position for the Lions.  White was a playmaker for the Bucs last season as he played in all 16 games and made 43 tackles, sacked the opposing QB 5 times, defensed 7 passes, forced 3 fumbles and recovered 3 fumbles.  Look for White to even play better in Detroit now that he’s reunited with his old coach.  This was an outstanding signing by the Detroit Lions as White was one of the best DEs on the free agent market this year.

Long snapper is usually an over-looked position on the football field but Don Muhlbach was rewarded for doing a good job for the Lions.  He played in all 16 games for the Lions last season and he’s played in 37 games in 3 seasons.  Muhlbach is one of the few players on the Lions last season that did a good job all year long.