Draft day suddenly makes a bit more sense.


Was Larry Foote in the Lions' plans all along?
by Tom Kowalski
Tuesday April 28, 2009, 12:16 PM

Let's put a couple of factors together and see what we come up with -- the Detroit Lions passed on a taking a middle linebacker in the first two rounds, Pittsburgh inside linebacker Larry Foote was just released in a widely anticipated move and Foote has not hidden his desire to return to Detroit and play for his hometown Lions.

"I think he'd enjoy that,'' said Foote's agent, Ken Kremer. The Lions haven't been in contact with Kremer yet but that's expected to happen soon. The big question now is how much interest the Lions have in signing Foote.

Before, during and after the draft, Lions general manager Martin Mayhew and head coach Jim Schwartz continually said that the team would have roster holes after the draft and that they believed they could fill some of them. Were the Lions just waiting for Foote to get released? It's a move that many league insiders anticipated and Foote himself was waiting to get cut.

"I don't think he was shocked by it,'' Kremer said.

Many Lions fans were surprised when the team passed on Ohio State's James Laurinaitis and USC's Rey Maualuga with the team's No. 20 and No. 33 selections. It's possible the Lions knew that Foote would be released soon and they might be in the running to sign him. Another factor why the Lions would pass on a rookie and try to get Foote -- or another veteran -- is the fact that defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham has a well-documented disdain for starting a lot of rookies at the same time.

Foote, who will be 29 in June, has played seven years in the league and has started the last five seasons and hasn't missed a game due to injury in the last six years. He's also helped the Steelers win a couple of those Lombardi Trophy things.

Were the Lions waiting in the wings to sign Foote and fill a huge hole in their defense or is this all just a coincidence? We should find out fairly quickly.

Larry Foote is a bad ass.

I would love it if we got Larry Foote. That would really start to pull our whole D together.

For some reason I thought he played strong side in a 4-3 (and shifted inside in Pitt).

Anyway, if he can play MLB here that would rock. Levy can learn the position from him.

BTW, he's about the same size as the two LB's we drafted. So it would be nice for them to learn how to use their speed to play that position.

This would be a great signing for now and the future.

He's a good age too. At 28 he still has some solid years left, but has 8 years of experience to bring to the table.

We'd be thin at CB and DT, but otherwise I think the defense would be OK (assuming we get a pass rush somewhere from all the young DE's).

I can't believe that they had this in their plans. This would be sweet though.

Remember who is running the ops in Pittsburgh?

This would have been a nice tidbit for Killer to include in his story:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Colbert

Not to go off course here, but Glen Dorsey is apparently available for a second round pick. So if you don't get Foote, that's another way to strengthen the middle.

What would the defense look like with Foote?

RE Avril/Devries
DT Fluellen/Cohen
DT Jackson/Hill/Darby
LE White/IAF

OLB: Sims/Follett
MLB: Foote/Levy
OLB: Peterson/Lewis

CB: Buchanon/King
SS: Delmas/Alexander
FS: Bullocks/Alexander
CB: Henry/Fisher

That defense looks a lot better than last year. Still need help at CB, DE, and DT, (eventually S and LB again), but that looks a lot better.

Follett is strictly a SLB from everything I've read. He'd have to back up Peterson. Still, if they can get some pash rush from our DE's that won't be terrible.

Schwartz has said he goes with a ROLB and LOLB scheme, not SLB or WLB. So I just put the backups on either side.

Oh, I gotcha.

How'd I miss this thread all morning? SWEEEEEEEEEEEEET! if it happens

Scwartz has also said he wants interchangable parts with the LBs. I dont' think he wants as much of a prototypical MLB as all y'all keep on sayin.

We have a lil room left. Not sure what Footes contract looks like.

We COULD (could peeps, don't jump down my throat) still cut Backus and save about 4 mil or Sims. Don't want to do Sims, but Foote is a lb.

Foote was released, not waived, so we can sign him to whatever contract to which he agrees.

This looks like it may be all but a done deal.

http://www.freep.com/article/20090428/SPORTS01/90428065/1049/rss14

Edit: actually, reading the end of the article makes it seem a little less likely. Get it done Mad Mayhew!

We have a lil room left. Not sure what Footes contract looks like.

We COULD (could peeps, don't jump down my throat) still cut Backus and save about 4 mil or Sims. Don't want to do Sims, but Foote is a lb.

Why on earth would you cut Sims? He's one of the few legit players on defense.

I'd bet almost anything the Colbert was instrumental in helping the Lions/Foote with this.

That's organizational excellence right there.

Why on earth would you cut Sims? He's one of the few legit players on defense.

To sign Foote

I was kind of hoping Follett would get a little MLB training in there. Just to add some versatility to him. Don't forget to count Dizon as the 3rd string LB (sigh).

To sign Foote

Why? First off, I'd rather have Sims than Foote. Second, I think we were in the top 5 of teams with cap space going into this offseason. Obviously Stafford takes a big chunk of that, but I seriously doubt that we don't have the space to sign him outright.

Yeah, we should be able to sign Foote without making any significant cuts. Guys like Gaines and Fitzimmons should be cut, clearing a couple million, as well as Cason and more. There is more salary that can be cut at a better increase in cash than cutting Backus or Sims.

Obviously, if you don't like Foote over Sims, don't do it. I was assuming peeps liked Foote over some of our guys.

We took a hit with Redding, lil bit, and have Peterson too. I'd say we have about 8 left. I'm not sure what the rookie pool is but Staff won't take up much this year.

This is prior to the draft:


The Lions currently have $95 million committed to their 2009 roster, and, according to Sports Business Journal, the NFL cap for 2009 will be a minimum of $123 million. According to a document obtained from the NFL Players Association, Detroit has $28 million under the cap, but that number could grow significantly because of some expected roster moves.
Quarterback Daunte Culpepper, cornerback Leigh Bodden, guard Edwin Mulitalo, safety Dwight Smith and tight end Dan Campbell have big salaries coming, and they could be released in the offseason.
Culpepper, who was signed in mid-season, has a $2.5 million roster bonus due in late February that would trigger a $2.5 million salary for next season. If Culpepper is released, the Lions would save $5 million off their cap.
Bodden, who has an $8.6 million roster bonus also due in February, likely will be released, trimming $4.6 million of cap commitment in 2009. Mulitalo and Smith are in the last year of their contracts and, if they get cut, the Lions save $2.8 million and $2.3 million, respectively. Releasing Campbell would result in a savings of about $1 million.
If all of those players are released, the Lions would have an additional $15.7 million available in their cap, giving them almost $39 million to spend on new players for the 2009 season.


So they at least have $33 mil prior to the draft. Add in Stafford's 12 mil, a few mil for Pettigrew, Delmes probably will make 1-1.5 mil this year. So let's say 20 mil for the whole draft class. How much did we spend on Looper, Hansen, Jackson, Buchannon, and the WR's?

Foote was roughly 3.5 mil last year.

Buchannon makes 4 mil.
Jackson makes 2.5 mil.
Johnson makes 3 mil.

The Redding/Peterson trade takes 2 mil off the cap (http://blog.mlive.com/highlightreel/2009/03/salary_cap_implications_of_the.html).

28 mil under the cap before the draft? Bullshit. No fucking way. Unless I'm way off. I'll eat crow.

And Staff won't cost us anywhere near 12mil this year. Thats more then our entire rookie pool.

I'm surprised that "you guys" don't have a cap thread yet.

they may not have much left. But they can cut cambell and save a mil since they drafted two TE's.

Check out this page: http://www.thenetrat.com/

I'm surprised that "you guys" don't have a cap thread yet.

I've posted quite a bit about it, but no one replies.

So I'm assuming peeps think I'm full of shit or no one cares. My guess is the first one.

Cutting Sims would result in a 2.8 mil cap hit, not saved.

I've posted quite a bit about it, but no one replies.

So I'm assuming peeps think I'm full of shit or no one cares. My guess is the first one.

It's a lot harder to find their salaries, so it makes it hard to talk about it.

It is.

I was off with 8, but if you download stuff add and subtract and withouth knowing exactly how Lewand did everything, but we are prolly a lil over 10mil. So as you said, Foote could be signed outright.

Remember Rule 51 when doing your calcs too. If you have zero enough of a life to figure this stuff out by yourself.

If we sign 7 players, 7 salaries come off the books.

Actually better stated would be to say that we only take a cap hit, the league only calculates, the top 51 contracts.

It is.

I was off with 8, but if you download stuff add and subtract and withouth knowing exactly how Lewand did everything, but we are prolly a lil over 10mil. So as you said, Foote could be signed outright.

Yeah, but I don't think that $10.7 is after the draft picks but before. if you click on the guy's spreadsheet, Stafford isn't listed with the QB's.

http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2009/04/steelers_say_larry_foote_has_n.html

Looks like he's not been released yet, and they are still trying to acquire something for him via trade.

Yeah, but I don't think that $10.7 is after the draft picks but before. if you click on the guy's spreadsheet, Stafford isn't listed with the QB's.

I've been following KFFL, mostly. That guy is the guy that has it down. He posted it about a month ago, or so.

It is not after the draft picks cuz there is just 1 contract to subtract. Staffs yes, but thats about it.

I've been following KFFL, mostly. That guy is the guy that has it down. He posted it about a month ago, or so.

It is not after the draft picks cuz there is just 1 contract to subtract. Staffs yes, but thats about it.

So the other picks won't count against there? I don't follow.

Using Rule 51, the difference of the rest of the picks is fairly insignificant, if I'm following this correctly.

So the other picks won't count against there? I don't follow.

Yes, they will count, but we dont' know what they look like yet, we don't know who makes the team yet, etc.

And rookie contracts are generally very cap friendly.

We are in good shape. I just hope we still have totally free cap space when teams are forced to start cutting their rosters.

If a surprise 4th rounder(example) is playing really well for a team and can replace a starter at 3-4 mil (example) that starter could be cut if the team wants to save money...thats obvious, but thats when it would be nice to have some cap space without having to cut someone to sign those guys.

We have 1st rights to all cuts, cuz we suck.

And I think there will be plenty of that activity from the Lions.

Cash and Joe Dumars is king, especially in this economy.

If the Lions rookie pool is say about 8 million and we sign 7 guys to 8million in cap hits, the bottom 7 contracts already on the books come off.

That would prolly be 2-3mil. So we really have about 10-11mil to sign these guys. The 8 the league gives you and the bottom contracts coming off, 2-3mill

If you figure the lowest paid guys are 350k to 500k, multiply it out by whatever amount of players you think make our roster. 7ish???

Its weird cuz I was just looking at CJs numbers from last year.

His salary 1.8 and bonuses 4.3 were 6.2m total, but his cap hit was 3.5ish. He had zero signing bonus. The 4.3 was other bonuses.

I'm not sure how exactly they do that, but there must be some rules here and there about this and that, that make this stuff possible.

Next year, CJ's hit will prolly start to get ugly.

Well, his cap hit for the year won't necessarily get huge; the problem would arrive if he were to be traded or cut (not happening with CJ, obviously), at which point the cap hit for the year becomes the sum of all future signing bonuses.

Check out this page: http://www.thenetrat.com/

Did you just find that? This is the first time I've seen this one.

Well, his cap hit for the year won't necessarily get huge; the problem would arrive if he were to be traded or cut (not happening with CJ, obviously), at which point the cap hit for the year becomes the sum of all future signing bonuses.

Corrcect, which is why Cory hit us a lil bit. I think Backus' could be cut now without a hit.

I thought Sims could too after June 1. You think otherwise. Just be ready to fight it out at the Tigers game we go to this summer.

Fine, but prepare to have your ass kicked...

Again.

Corrcect, which is why Cory hit us a lil bit. I think Backus' could be cut now without a hit.

I thought Sims could too after June 1. You think otherwise. Just be ready to fight it out at the Tigers game we go to this summer.

If you think a productive player like Sims should be let go just because he makes decent money...you might as well move to LA and root for the Clippers. that's what they seem to like to do.

If you think a productive player like Sims should be let go just because he makes decent money...you might as well move to LA and root for the Clippers. that's what they seem to like to do.

Is that what I said?

Fine, but prepare to have your ass kicked...

Again.

See...Your sig. That's you on the skate board.

Well, you said we could to get Foote:


We have a lil room left. Not sure what Footes contract looks like.

We COULD (could peeps, don't jump down my throat) still cut Backus and save about 4 mil or Sims. Don't want to do Sims, but Foote is a lb.

I don't know why you'd cut a top 5 player on this team to sign an older LB in the first place.

Well, you said we could to get Foote:



I don't know why you'd cut a top 5 player on this team to sign an older LB in the first place.

Like I said, if peeps wanted Foote more, Sims could be cut. Thats all. I said Backus could be cut also.

I brought up Sims cuz we might have a lot of LBs if the draftees make the team. With Petersons contract, as an idle thought, I thought maybe throwing out a LB that I thought could be cut with no cap hit for a trade off.

You could probably trade Sims for a 2nd round pick if you really wanted him gone BTW. Cutting him is pretty damn foolish.

I'd rather get rid of our backup TE's that we don't need.

Now you're thinking

I said to dump those TE's 3 pages ago...

We could have just not signed Stafford. We'd be rich as shit.

Cap now sits at 8mil which is what I said in the first damn place

does that include the rookie allocation?

Cap now sits at 8mil which is what I said in the first damn place

I don't recall ever doubting your numbers, I just wanted to post a reference for our comparison.

Thats cool. I'm glad you did. I was just barking.

So..........is this going down?

does that include the rookie allocation?

Yes, if I'm reading your question right. Its a cap within a cap.

We prolly have about 2mil in actual free cap space.

And just so someone doesn't start going off on me, its not really a cap within a cap, but thats the best way to describe it...or easiest way.

If the Lions rookie pool is say about 8 million and we sign 7 guys to 8million in cap hits, the bottom 7 contracts already on the books come off.

That would prolly be 2-3mil. So we really have about 10-11mil to sign these guys. The 8 the league gives you and the bottom contracts coming off, 2-3mill

If you figure the lowest paid guys are 350k to 500k, multiply it out by whatever amount of players you think make our roster. 7ish???

It is just over 8m. 8,074,992

Foote released this afternoon. Pit tried to get something for him, but MM actually did the right thing here and waited for his release.

Smart move. We'll see if he actually wants to come play here or not.

Free-agent linebacker Larry Foote will visit the Lions on Wednesday, his agent, Ken Kremer, said in an e-mail today.

It would be a mistake to get rid of Sims. Now that he can play outside with two other solid LBs he should be quite good. The guy always had a great motor but is just too small to be the MLB.

Who suggested Sims was supposed to be a MLB? I have never seen him play a single down at that spot.

I prolly did. I'll suggest most anything to discuss in the NFL forum.

With Pete being outside, I think I was thinking that thinking that Curry might play outside too (if we drafted him)and if we had 2 huge DTs that I was thinking of thinking about Sims playing MLB for about a milisec. I was thinking that it was flawed thinking though.

BTW...

Lions front office>Steeler's front office

That's........uhhhh.................

Who's taking the time to check Tahoe into rehab? Denny, don't you have some experience with this?

Ssshhhhhh.....

Let an old man have his fun. Just give him some Jello and let him stare at the hot blonde nurse.

Linebacker Larry Foote to Lions: 'It's like 90% done'

BY MICHAEL ROSENBERG • FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER • May 5, 2009

Editor's note: Story updated at 9:42 p.m.

Larry Foote is on the verge of becoming a Lion.
Advertisement

Foote, who was released by the Steelers this week, met with the Lions management and coaches today and was offered a one-year deal. He and the Lions have agreed on the contract value but were still finalizing the payment schedule and guaranteed portion of the deal tonight.

“It’s like 90% done,” Foote said.

Foote, who played for Detroit Pershing and the University of Michigan, is scheduled to take a physical for the Lions tomorrow morning.

Foote was scheduled to make $2.8 million for the Super Bowl champion Steelers and would surely have to take less than that from the Lions. But he is looking forward to re-establishing himself as a three-down linebacker and returning to the open market next winter. The Steelers had been sitting him in obvious passing downs, the main reason Foote had asked for his release.

“At this point, I want to really show my worth, so I’m really looking for a one year deal,” he said. “I want to show I can play so I can get my value even higher.”

Foote would almost certainly be the starting middle linebacker in new coach Jim Schwartz’s 4-3 defense. He was an inside linebacker in the Steelers’ 3-4.

Foote said he really likes by the Lions’ new management team.

“They have an experienced coaching staff,” he said. “(General manager) Martin Mayhew, me and him hit it off real good. Those guys seem like they’re moving in the right direction. They’re bringing some guys in who want to fight and play. I was impressed. I would love to be here long-term if things move in the right direction. I’m just excited starting off fresh this season. I’ve never been afraid to compete.”

As for the chance to play for his hometown team, Foote said he could hardly believe it himself.

“It’s amazing,” he said. “I’ve thought about playing at home. When I started playing with the Steelers, I didn’t think it was ever going to happen. I’m excited, I’m pumped up to rejuvenate my career. What a challenge, being part of the Lions turning things around.”

I'm looking forward to this season more than any other in a long time or soemthing.

I'm looking forward to this season more than any other in a long time or soemthing.

It's going to be great because the season is literally guaranteed to be an improvment over last season. The only way it wouldn't be is if they went 0-16 while losing every game by a larger margin.

True

I still think we can be 8-8. We could have won 3 or so games last year pretty easily. We've improved our talent quite a bit and more importantly we've improved our coaches.

Having a objective like wanting to run the ball outside in the cold and building a team around that is good. Being more physical on the offensive side, etc, is a good thing.

Rod just took the blame every week and said he needed to go back to fundamentals of blocking.

Sims/Foote/Peterson with Levey and Dizon as backups will be a huge improvement over last year. Our CB's are better and safety should be better too.

As long as the DL holds up the defense will be a lot better. Hopefully middle of the road instead of one of the worst.

aahhh hoping for mediocrity...is there anything more Lions

"Things that are Lions"

hmmm

So now we're looking at...

RE- Dewayne White
NT- Grady Jackson
DT- Chuck Darby or Sammie Lee Hill (I hope Hill ends up being a surprise starter)
LE- Cliff Avril
WLB- Ernie Sims
MLB- Larry Foote
SLB- Julian Peterson
CB- Anthony Henry
CB- Phillip Buchanon
FS- Louis Delmas
SS- Daniel Bullocks

Backups

Andre Fluellen
Ikaika Alama-Francis
Jared DeVries
Landon Cohen
Cody Spencer
Alex Lewis
Jordon Dizon
DeAndre Levy
Zack Follett
Gerald Alexander
Keith Smith
Eric King
Kalvin Pearson

I don't know about you, but this defense may be as formidable as it's ever been since the Spielman/Porcher/Elliss days...

Assuming Avril can generate some pass rush and Bullocks plays well, I could see that.

Our biggest weakness may be DT. Grady Jackson really is only an asset on 1st and 2nd down and Chuck Darby is pretty much useless.

I wouldn't mind signing one more guy who can rotate with Jackson and Hill, Vonnie Holliday or Dewayne Robertson are two that come to mind.

Signing one of those guys would allow us to just cut Darby altogether.

What is Fluellen's future? I know he got some late starts towards the end of last year, but is he big enough to be thrown into the fire? Landon Cohen, I imagine, is just roster fodder, although he was impressive in that pre-season game last year @ Buffalo.

Fluellen- 6'2'', 296

Cohen- 6'3'', 274

Hill- 6'4'', 331 (BEAST!!)

Jackson- 6'2'', 345

Darby- 6'0'', 297

I think Hill will get a good look to see if they need to address that position early in the draft next year. If Hill does well they can get a DE or OT instead.

^ Remember their strategy though, they draft talent, pretty much regardless of need in the draft and add positions through FA and Trades.

The Detroit Lions have confirmed that free agent linebacker Larry Foote passed his physical this morning and is now officially a member of the team.

Excellent signing for them, if he can stay healthy.

We'll have to see if he can handle the culture shock coming from a so-so run team, Steelers, to a championship type organization in the Lions.

Gl'enn isnt' even playing today

I assume its only a 1 year deal because of age, injuries?

^Ledeztastic!

I assume its only a 1 year deal because of age, injuries?

Or maybe they want an out if Levy impresses with his transition. If Levy isn't a MLB by next year I think they'd extend Foote.

The defense is getting better. The only problem I see now is at the cornerback position. Henry and Buchanon are both nickel corners....good thing the Bears and Vikings don't have any WR's tho.

I'm still thinking Henry is going to be teamed with Delmas at safety for some reason. King at corner?

Or maybe they want an out if Levy impresses with his transition. If Levy isn't a MLB by next year I think they'd extend Foote.

I think he's probably the one who wants an out if he can re-establish himself as a 3-down player. Not that he wouldn't necessarily stay with the Lions, but he'd want to have a chance to bump up his salary and get one big contract before the decline set in.

^ Remember their strategy though, they draft talent, pretty much regardless of need in the draft and add positions through FA and Trades.

I don't know that that was necessarily their permanent philosophy though? More just the strategy given the state things were in.

Oh, good point. I thought that they were thinking that for a couple of years anyway. I might have read too much into it. But it sounded like adding young talent in draft despite need and blah blah blah fa blah trade blah.

I think he's probably the one who wants an out if he can re-establish himself as a 3-down player. Not that he wouldn't necessarily stay with the Lions, but he'd want to have a chance to bump up his salary and get one big contract before the decline set in.

Someone can read, lol

#77

I was geeked about the signing til the release of Sims (unless the guy can't recoup from an injury)... subtraction by addition?.. hmmm

Release of Sims?

Release of Sims?

I have no idea what he's talking about. Here's an article today on Gunther thinking Sims will thrive without the Tampa 2:

http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2009/05/gunther_cunningham_ernie_sims.html

Tahoe mentioned it might be a possibility. I presume it's a joke.

Yeah, I saw that article, then saw his comment and thought I must have missed something important.

I wonder if cutting Leigh Bodden was a mistake. Perhaps we should've tried to get him to re-structure rather than just flat out release the guy.

I still like Keith Smith as probably are best pure-cover corner. Also, isn't Anthony Henry almost certain to be a CB now? With Delmas & Bullocks healthy and Pearson as the nickel (believe it or not, Pearson was one of our top tacklers last year), it would seem Henry has to play corner, now.

Dre' Bly is still available...

Don't forget Phil Buchanon.