Detroit Lions Weblog

Lions sign veteran Free Agent Center Guiterrez, Rogers practices without “red jersey”

The Lions have added additional depth to their offensive line by signing NFL veteran Brock Gutierrez. Gutierrez, is from Charlotte, Michigan and attended Central Michigan University. Whether or not he makes the roster his acquisition is completely exciting to me. You see, Charlotte (pronounced Shar-Lot) is a nearby community here in mid-Michigan very close to my former home in Lake Odessa. I played against Gutierrez and his Orioles in both my junior and senior football seasons. As pathetic as it seems, this distantly tangible connection to a real life NFL player (whom I don’t even know) makes youthful dreams seem less fleeting.

The off-season scrutiny of Charles Rogers can now cease, or will amplify exponentially as we get closer to the start of the season. There has been rampant speculation over Rogers’ ability to overcome the two straight seasons of missing games to due to flukey injuries. The minicamps, training camp and pre-season are Rogers’ opportunity to put these doubters to rest and begin to realize the lofty expectations we have all held for him since we was drafted three years ago. Will there be tense moments of self-doubt? Will the fans ever warm up to him? Will he go down in history like other oft-injured players who never attained their promising potential? It remains to be seen how he will perform, but I will stay optimistic that Rogers will return to his spectacular form.

Is Shaun Cody really going to have an “Apprentice”-styled reality show where burgeoning agents will vie for the right to represent his career interests? Come on, Shaun, please rise above the flotsam. I realize that the exposure may benefit Cody and the organization equally. Hopefully, this doesn’t provide any sort of distraction to his becoming a bonafied NFL Defensive Linemen.