3 Players That The Lions SHOULD Sign Before Training Camp...

AtoZ Sports

Mike Payton talks about 3 players that he thinks could end up on the Detroit Lions roster by the time training camp rolls around in July.

Transcript

00:00The Detroit Lions are probably not done bringing in more players.

00:04Here's three more guys that we think are going to be on the training camp roster

00:07once the Lions report in mid-July. Let's talk about it.

00:14Hi, Mike Payne from A2Z Sports Detroit. Today we're going to talk about three guys that we think

00:19the Lions will add to their training camp roster once they report.

00:23And what we're guessing is mid-July. We know they're going to report early this year

00:27because they are playing in the Hall of Fame game. They're skipping mandatory minicamp

00:30because of that. We don't know an exact report date yet, but I think we'll probably know that

00:35pretty soon. Anyways, here's three guys that I think are probably going to be on the roster.

00:40First off, Zedarius Smith. Really easy, right out of the gate. I think this is what Lions fans want.

00:46I think the Lions want this. I think Smith wants this. I think what's really holding this up is

00:51just the money. Is the contract going to be right? I think the Lions probably want to

00:57meet more down in that three to five million a year range. Maybe Smith wants more like a six or

01:03seven or eight. Maybe they'll find a way to meet somewhere in that middle half, that portion. Maybe

01:09it's six million dollars. I don't know what it is, but I really feel like Zedarius Smith is going to

01:15be back to the Lions at some point. He hasn't signed anywhere else. He hasn't visited anywhere else.

01:20It doesn't seem like there's any news about him listening to somebody else or considering going

01:28somewhere. So I think Smith and Detroit just makes way too much sense to ignore. I think it's

01:32happening. I just don't know when. The next guy is a guy that you might remember, and we're talking

01:38about cornerback Stephen Gilmore. Now, Gilmore was with the Lions in 2023, had an unbelievable

01:45preseason. A bunch of picks, pick six, pass deflections, beautiful pass deflections. The

01:52Lions seemed like they really thought they were going to have something with him. They stashed

01:57him all through 2023. And in 2024, it didn't go as well. He didn't grow, I think, as the Lions really

02:05wanted him to. And he didn't wind up getting another opportunity in the NFL in 2024. But he is in the

02:11UFL right now for the Birmingham Stallions. And he's easily one of the best defensive players in

02:16that league. And I think what he has shown just with those pass deflections and the interceptions

02:23and the tackling ability and the run tackling ability that he has shown in the UFL. Once that

02:28league ends here in the next few weeks, a lot of those guys are going to be free agents again. And I

02:33think the Lions might be looking at Gilmore to come back into camp, see what you could do all over

02:39again. There's certainly an opening for it. There's certainly players they could move around

02:43to shift to make that happen. I think Gilmore with another chance in Detroit could potentially score

02:50a practice squad position or maybe even that special teams corner position. That's one to watch,

02:56I think. The last guy is an interesting one. It's another player from the UFL. I've talked about this

03:01guy before. I still don't understand why he hasn't really got a shot in the NFL. It's because I think he

03:06keeps going to the worst possible teams that he could go to. Like last year, he went to the

03:11Cincinnati Bengals where they already have Jamar Chase and Tee Higgins. I'm talking about Hakeem

03:16Butler, St. Louis Battle Hawks receiver, last year's offensive player of the year in the UFL.

03:22This is a guy who has been a really good receiver. He's on the little bit on the older side. He's a guy

03:28that you might bring in for a lower depth position. I'm not saying this is a starter or anything like

03:32that. But with Bruce Gretkowski now on the Lions offensive staff, this was the guy who was Butler's

03:39OC during the year where he was offensive player of the year. I think there's a possibility that

03:44maybe you could see Butler come to Detroit, get a try during training camp, try to find a spot for

03:50him to make that team. Obviously, there's Amon Ross St. Brown, Jamison Williams, Isaac Teslock,

03:58Khalif Raymond, Tim Patrick. But I think once you get past that, it's really wide open. There's a

04:03spot. If there's a six receiver, maybe Butler can find that spot. He's a guy who can come in every

04:09now and again, high point the ball, can do some things. Again, he's not a starter. None of these

04:15guys really are besides Smith, but this is depth. This is good, solid depth that you can use on special

04:21teams and on defense or offense. It's worth a look. Let's see what happens over the next month.

04:27And we'll talk to you guys next time.

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