Detroit Lions Weblog

Lions Sign RB Harris, Going “X-Files”

The Lions have signed free agent RB Arlen Harris. Harris, who also returns kicks, has previously played for Mike Martz and Wilbert Montgomery in St. Louis. Harris will help to provide additional depth and knowledge of the new offensive system as they enter next weeks mini-camp. Harris, much like Shaun King, probably will have a slim chance of making the team, although his familiarity with the coaches should help him.

Local Radio Host Jack Ebling (WQTX 92.1) mentioned earlier this week that the Lions were about to receive some bad news. After the articles regarding Joey Harrington leaving the team hit the news Ebling said that this was not that the bad news the team was about to receive and that “other shoe was about to drop” in that regard. Since whatever ominous scenario Ebling has eluded to has not been anounced I took the liberty of speculating what the news might be. Here are what I feel the most likely bad things to happen to the Lions this week:

1) Charles Rogers is suspended for the season for failing another test for illegal substances. Rogers’s failing another drug test would surely cement his place along with R. Jay Soward as the biggest bust at WR in recent NFL history. The acquisition of Corey Bradford further leads me to believe that the Lions signed Bradford in lieu of a Rogers suspension.

2) “Big Daddy” Dan Wilkinson retires. He has recently been contemplating retirement and the team has been trying to get him to reconsider.

3) Mike Martz retires. His health issues last year could easily crop and pull the rug out from under the Lion’s organization.

Other than these three scenarios, anything else I could come up is more or less a fabrication. The Lions, fighting one fire at a time, probably hope to avoid revealing whatever other bad news could be out there for the team until the first issue has blown over. Harrington essentially forcing the team to let him leave is an organizational “black eye” that will not heal quickly (Especially if he plays and excels for a divisional foe).

As much as I have some unwarranted confidence in the new coaching hires, I growing increasingly concerned about the internal health of this organization and the culture that permeates it. There is no question that this is amongst one of the worst franchises in all of professional sports. That being said, it looks like things might just continue to get worse before they can get any better.