The Detroit Lions have signed fullback Alan Ricard to a 1-year contract.  He played in 2 games (both starts) last season for the Ravens and he didn’t carry the ball even once last season.  He did catch 2 passes for 18 yards (9.0 avg).  At 5′11″, 237 pounds Ricard is little more than a basic blocking fullback and the Lions will only probably use him in short yardage situations and near the goal line if he makes the team.  Ricard has played in 55 games in his NFL career (32 starts) and he has carried the ball 43 times for 173 yards (4.0 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also has caught 32 passes for 179 yards (5.6 avg) with 0 TD grabs in his NFL career.

Drew Stanton will undergo arthroscopic knee surgery soon which will sideline him for about a month.  This will ensure that Stanton will be the #3 QB heading into the 2007 season.  Stanton’s injury will also spur a spirited competition in the pre season to see who the backup QB for the Lions will be.  NFL Europe Co-MVP J.T. O’Sullivan will battle Dan Orlovsky for the job.  Orlovsky might be a slight favorite due to the fact that he has been with the Lions a couple of seasons.

Converted tight end Eric Beverly has decided to hang up the spikes and retire after playing in 137 games (48 starts).  He was an offensive lineman until last season when he converted to tight end and he caught 1 pass for 0 yards.  This won’t be much of a loss for the Lions.

The Lions moved quick to replace Marcus Robinson when they signed Troy Walters to a 1-year deal.  Walters played in 15 games (3 starts) last season for the Cardinals and he caught 23 passes for 209 yards (9.1 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He also returned 24 punts for 250 yards (10.4 avg).  Walters will likely battle for the starting punt return job and he will probably be the #5 WR for the Lions. 

The Lions have placed WR Marcus Robinson on the Injured Reserve List thus ending his season.  He has a serious quadriceps injury that he just can’t shake.  Robinson played in 10 games (3 starts) last season for the Vikings and he caught 29 passes for 381 yards (13.1 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  The Lions won’t miss Robinson too much as he likely was only going to be used in the Red Zone because of his leaping ability.