The Lions have signed veteran safety Dwight Smith to a 2-year contract.  Smith played in 14 games last season for the Vikings and he made 51 tackles, defensed 9 passes, forced 1 fumble and intercepted 4 passes that he returned for 112 yards with a TD.  Smith has now played in 107 games in his NFL career and he has made 432 tackles, defensed 57 passes, has 2 sacks, forced 10 fumbles and picked off 22 passes that he returned for 301 yards including 1 TD.  Smith is a playmaker so this was a solid move for the Lions.

The Lions have traded DT Shaun Rogers to the Bengals for either a 3rd or 4th round pick.  Rogers played in 98 games in his career with the Lions and he made 272 tackles, had 29 sacks, defensed 21 passes, forced 4 fumbles and intercepted a pass that he returned 66 yards for a TD.  The Lions will have a hard time replacing Rogers so this trade didn’t make much sense.

UPDATE:  The trade with the Bengals fell through and the Lions got a much better deal with the Cleveland Browns.  The Browns traded a 3rd round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft and CB Leigh Bodden to the Lions for Rogers.  Bodden played in all 16 games last season for the Browns and he made 88 tackles, defensed 15 passes and had 6 interceptions.  Bodden has now played in 59 games in his NFL career and he has made 221 tackles, defensed 48 passes, forced 4 fumbles and intercepted 12 passes.  Bodden will immediately be the Lions best cover corner which was a position of need.

The Lions passed the ball far more often than they ran it in 2007 despite the fact that they had some decent running backs on the roster.  Kevin Jones started his season late due to injury but he still played in 13 games (10 starts) and he carried the ball 153 times for 581 yards (3.8 ypc) with 8 TD runs.  He also caught 32 passes for 197 yards (6.2 avg).  Jones has now played in 53 games (49 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 761 times for 3,067 yards (4.0 ypc) with 24 TD runs.  He also has caught 141 passes for 1,006 yards (7.1 avg) with 3 TD grabs.

T.J. Duckett really played well when the Lions decided to finally give him the rock.  He played in 12 games (1 start) last season for the Lions and he carried the ball 65 times for 335 yards (5.2 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also caught 4 passes for 54 yards (13.5 avg).  Duckett has now played in 77 games (14 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 655 times for 2,642 yards (4.0 ypc) with 36 TD runs.  He also has caught 35 passes for 303 yards (8.7 avg).

The Lions expected much more out of Tatum Bell after they acquired him in the off-season from the Broncos.  Bell played in 5 games (all starts) for the Lions last season and he carried the ball 44 times for 182 yards (4.1 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 14 passes for 63 yards (4.5 avg).  Bell has now played in 47 games (19 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 525 times for 2,524 yards (4.8 ypc) with 14 TD runs.  He also has caught 61 passes for 362 yards (5.9 avg).

Aveion Cason played in 12 games (0 starts) last season for the Lions and he carried the ball 11 times for 38 yards (3.5 ypc).  Cason also caught 14 passes for 129 yards (9.2 avg).  Cason has now played in 49 games (5 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 122 times for 555 yards (4.5 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also has caught 60 passes for 628 yards (10.5 avg) with 2 TD grabs.

Brian Calhoun hurt himself again this season.  He played in 4 games (0 starts) for the Lions in 2007 and he carried the ball 7 times for 35 yards (5.0 ypc).  He also caught 5 passes for 35 yards (7.0 avg).  Calhoun has now played in 11 games (0 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 14 times for 54 yards (3.9 ypc).  He also has caught 7 passes for 55 yards (7.9 avg).

Fullback Jon Bradley played in 15 games (6 starts) for the Lions this season and he carried the ball 5 times for 9 yards (1.8 ypc).  He also caught 2 passes for 10 yards (5.0 avg).  Bradley has now played in 41 games (5 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 5 times for 9 yards (1.8 ypc).  He has also caught 2 passes for 10 yards (5.0 avg).

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