The Lions have acquired 29-year old RB Ronnie Brown from the Eagles for 28-year old RB Jerome Harrison and a 7th round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft.  Brown played in six games for the Eagles this year and he carried the ball 13 times for 38 yards (2.9 ypc).  Brown has now played in 82 games in his first seven years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 1,141 times for 4,853 yards (4.3 ypc) with 36 TD runs.  He has also caught 184 passes for 1,491 yards (8.1 avg) with 2 TD grabs so far in his career.  Jerome Harrison played in 4 games for the Lions this year and he carried the ball 14 times for 41 yards (2.9 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 3 yards.  This was a good deal for the Lions as Ronnie Brown is more apt to handle a heavy workload, should Jahvid Best need to miss some time due to his concussion.

UPDATE:  (8/19/2011) – This deal has been voided due to health concerns involving Jerome Harrison.  So Harrison has been returned to the Lions.

The Lions have signed 29-year old guard Daniel Loper.  Loper played in 10 games (4 starts) for the Raiders last year.  He has now played in 58 games (9 starts) in this first six years in the NFL.  This was a good move for the Lions as Loper will give them some quality depth are guard going forward.

The Lions have placed 29-year old safety Erik Coleman on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season due to a ankle injury.  Coleman played in 4 games for the Lions this year and he had 2 tackles.  Coleman has now played in 111 games in his NFL career so far and he has 606 tackles, 2 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 11 tackles for a loss, 35 passes defensed and 10 interceptions.  This isn’t much of a loss for the Lions as Coleman wasn’t playing much.

The Lions have signed 29-year old safety Vincent Fuller.  Fuller played in 12 games last year with the Titans and he had 33 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception.  He has now played in 73 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 163 tackles, 16 passes defensed, 6 interceptions (4 returned for TDs), 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery and 7 tackles for a loss.  This was a good signing for the Lions as Fuller should be able to help out with depth at safety while also helping out on special teams.

UPDATE:  (10/28/2011) – The Lions have placed Vincent Fuller on I.R., ending his season due to a elbow injury.  Fuller played in 1 game for the Lions and he didn’t make any tackles.

The Lions have re-signed 29-year old CB Anthony Madison, who was one of their last cuts before the season started.  He played in all 16 games for the Steelers last year and he had 24 tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception and 1 pass defensed.  Madison has now played in 66 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 78 tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception and 1 pass defensed.  This was a good move for the Lions as Madison should really help them on special teams, while adding depth to the secondary.

UPDATE:  (11/8/2011) – The Lions have waived Anthony Madison.  Madison played in 5 games for the Lions this year and he had 3 tackles.

The Lions have placed 29-year old linebacker Isaiah Ekejiuba on the Injured Reserve list due to a severely injured shoulder.  Ekejiuba played in all 3 games for the Lions this year and he had 2 tackles.  Ekejiuba has now played in 12 games in his first two years with the Lions and he has 12 tackles and 2 forced fumbles.  The Lions might miss Ekejiuba a little bit on special teams, but that’s about it.

The Lions have claimed 26-year old DT Corvey Irvin off waivers from the Panthers.  Irvin played in 2 games for the Panthers last year and he had 4 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  The Lions hope the former 3rd round pick responds to a change of scenery as they think he can play.

The Lions have claimed 23-year old G/C Jacques McClendon off waivers from the Colts.  McClendon played in 4 games (0 starts) as a rookie for the Colts last year.  The Lions are looking for offensive line depth, so this is a worthwhile gamble to bring McClendon in and give him a shot to win a backup job in 2011.

The Lions have waived 25-year old RB Aaron Brown.  Brown played in 6 games (0 starts) for the Lions last year and he carried the ball 17 times for 58 yards (3.4 ypc).  He also caught 8 passes for 45 yards (5.6 avg) last year.  Brown played in 21 games (2 starts) in his two years with the Lions and he carried the ball 44 times for 189 yards (4.3 ypc).  He also caught 17 passes for 129 yards (7.6 avg) with 1 TD grab for the Lions.  Brown also returned 42 kickoffs for 951 yards (22.6 avg) for the Lions.  This isn’t much of a loss for the Lions, but I think Brown will get a shot with another team at some point in 2011.

The Lions have claimed 25-year old RB Keiland Williams off waivers from the Redskins.  Williams played in 15 games (3 starts) in his rookie year in 2010 for the Redskins.  He carried the ball 65 times for 261 yards (4.0 ypc) with 3 TD runs and he also caught 39 passes for 309 yards (7.9 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Williams looked solid as a rookie last year, so I like this pickup for the Lions.