Tim Patrick is back with the Detroit Lions
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Here we go, everybody. It's a Friday edition of Locked On Lions right here on the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Matt Derry with you, the host here on Locked On Lions. Thanks for making us your first listen and checking us out wherever you get your podcasts, NFL networks and NFL.com's. Nick Shook is going to join us on Monday. We'll do a little mock draft Monday and we'll get Nick's thoughts on the Lions free agent class and everything that's gone on this past week as week one of NFL free agency is in the books.

We'll get Nick on the program coming up on Monday. Locked on Lions today, brought to you by our friends at FanDuel. Today's episode, like I said, brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can get $200 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. A lot of March Madness going on. Get in on the action at FanDuel.com. Thank you to our everydayers that are out there that watch us.

Or listen to the podcast daily. Some of you will check us out on YouTube, Spotify, the Odyssey app, Apple Podcasts, where I get my podcasts. We appreciate all of you checking us out. Ran into an everydayer last night, Alex Miller.

at the Kristen Shaoni Daxton event, which was a lot of fun. Brad Patrick was there as well last night. Brad is an everydayer and a big Locked On Lions listener. And Brad is close with my favorite people, or some of my favorite people, Jacob and Dawn Bondarek, who I love dearly. Shouts to Dawn, who unfortunately today went out and bought a bottle of Casamigos tequila and it exploded in the bag in her car.

Poor Dawn. We love you. And hopefully she gets her Casamigos tonight as well. Oh, Matt Stile as well as an everydayer. Also part of the Brad Patrick crew. So shout out to all of you that check us out daily. We appreciate all of you. All right.

We will do a call of the day today. That is a lock. We will get that going as well today on the program. A lot to get into. Terry and Arnold just love social media. We'll talk about that. But we got to start with this.

Tim Patrick has been sitting out there for four or five days in free agency. The Lions wide receiver had signed a one-year deal with the team last offseason after, of course, back-to-back years, tearing his ACL with the Broncos. And we had talked around this time a year ago, like, what are the Lions going to do about wide receiver number three or number four? You've got Kalief Raymond coming back. You've got Jamison Williams coming back. You've got Amon Ross St. Brown coming

And we talked about wide receiver. We joked a lot on the show about wide receiver three, wide receiver four. I really like Kalief Raymond and figure for a third wide receiver that that is a good enough role for him. It was really who's going to be that X or Z receiver on the outside that could be, I guess, wide receiver four. Well, Brad Holmes did what Brad Holmes does. And last year he got Tim Patrick in here.

from the Broncos as sort of a one-year flyer. And all Tim Patrick did was catch 33 passes for 394 yards and three touchdowns. Now, those numbers are not gaudy. Those numbers are not jump-off-the-sheet numbers. But Tim Patrick came in and did everything the Lions asked him to do.

big bodied guy that could block downfield was a team. First player clutch catches on third down, kind of took that Josh Reynolds role this past year as a security blanket for Jared Goff. And he did a great job. And once again, Brad Holmes is going to keep,

One of the key players around. Now, do the Lions have a lot more weapons than Tim Patrick? Yes. Is there a reason why he also re-upped on a one-year deal and maybe other teams shied away from the injuries and giving him a multi-year deal? And there's other free agents out there in terms of the wide receiver position? Of course. But these are the types of players you win with. Tim Patrick is extremely unselfish. Wide receivers, as we know for the most part, are divas.

They want the football. They want the rock. They're walking off the field with their hands up in the air sometimes going, how come nobody's throwing me the ball? What's going on here? Why am I not getting my touches? This dude never, ever complained, ever. He just went out there and was a badass on the football field. He caught everything that was thrown his way. Like I said before, the Lions running game is predicated on a lot of things. Number one, they've got very good running backs.

All right. Jameer Gibbs is a home run hitter. David Montgomery is just so solid, so tough. All right. Craig Reynolds comes off the bench, does his thing. The Lions have got good depth there. Jamar Jefferson, Sione Vaki. They've got guys that can run it. They've also got an excellent offensive line, which we've seen now really grow over the last couple of years.

But their receivers block well. I know some of you think I'm some J-Mo hater. Jamison Williams is an excellent blocker for a wide receiver. Excellent. He likes to block. St. Brown, tough as nails. You don't want to mess with that little guy. He can block. So can Tim Patrick.

And there were so many long runs last year, especially from Jameer Gibbs, that were kind of sprouted and came to fruition thanks to a guy like Tim Patrick blocking down the field. So he's back on a one-year reported $4 million deal, might be just a little bit lower than $4 million. And this is just another great addition, a great keep.

for Jared Goff and this Lions offense that they can continue to build on what they've been doing over the last two plus years. Well aware that Ben Johnson is gone and that John Morton is in as offensive coordinator and things might look a little bit different. But I think it was Bill Belichick who said it weeks ago, I can be the greatest coach ever. You got to have players. You've got to have players. You know, you look in the NBA and you see some of these coaches. When Frank Vogel had LeBron and Anthony Davis,

He won a championship. Everybody thought he was a genius. When he didn't have great players in Phoenix and bad chemistry, he got fired after one year, right? You got to have players. Matt LaFleur has had players the last few years in Green Bay. The Packers have always had good rosters. So all of a sudden, he's considered, you know, one of the better coaches in the NFC.

When Sean McVay had a team with no players that one year with the Rams where they were extremely bad two years ago due to all the injuries and a makeshift offensive line, all of a sudden, all of a sudden, Sean McVay didn't know what he was doing. Right. Lions have players and bringing Tim Patrick back, I think, is great. I absolutely love it. And this is, again, the kind of scenario that Brad Holmes was looking for.

which is keep good guys in that locker room, good culture guys, good culture fits, good teammates, keep them around. I think I saw today, and maybe I forgot to mention this on the pod, Trevor Nowoski's coming back. He's not a great player, all right, but he's a great fit for what this team's trying to do. He is a Swiss Army knife on defense that occasionally plays the Sam linebacker, occasionally rushes the passer. Lions are bringing a lot of these guys back.

which is great, but people were worried about Tim Patrick leaving and he is back with the team. So the wide receiver returns and that room is still going to be very, very solid come next season. And I love it. Tim Patrick hung a t-shirt in his locker to make the announcement today on his Instagram. And on the shirt, it said, I only want to work with the lions. When did that ever happen in the past? You got Levi Onzerike,

Making $5.5 million. When you knew he could have hit the market a lot harder and maybe signed for more. Tim Patrick getting just a little bit less than $4 million. You've got guys that want to stay. You've got guys that want to be here. Grant Stewart said yesterday on the podium he wanted to be on the Lions. He had offers from other teams. He's likely going to be a backup linebacker and special teamer. Maybe he could have competed and started somewhere else on a bad team. No.

He's like, let me sign up for the Lions, get a one-year deal and try to win. Yes, players want the most money. Yes, Miles Garrett said, get me out of here and trade me from Cleveland. Oh, by the way, his agent, she got him $40 million a year. So all of a sudden now he's happy. It is about money. Miles Garrett wanted to be the highest paid non-quarterback in the NFL and he got it done. I'm not saying he's a loser by staying in Cleveland, but I'm saying he might be a loser by staying in Cleveland.

But he got his money. Guys are taking less to come to Detroit, of all places. Can you believe this? That's pretty cool. As far as value signings and what this means for the team, these last couple of signings, I want to get into that. We'll do that coming up next right here on Locked on Lions.

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Matt Derry back with you. It's a Friday edition of Locked On Lions. Thanks for making us your first listen. Checking us out wherever you get your podcasts. Great article today in Barrett Sports Media. As David Locke, the proprietor of the Locked On Podcast Network, talked all about what the network has been doing over the last eight years, how much success we've had. It was a really good article. Check it out at Barrett Sports Media. This network has grown and done great. I am just so proud of the fact that

I'm one of the originals that have been around since 2016 when the network started. So that is just awesome. I want to talk about value signings in a second. Levi Onzerike got one year and five and a half million dollars. And again, probably could have gotten more. Said yesterday he was blessed, blessed to remain with the Lions and get a second contract from the team. This past year, Onzerike played in 16 of the 17 games.

And if you recall, he missed an entire season a couple of years ago. He's never really been able to stay injured due to the back injuries and others. Played over 600 snaps this year on defense. And he was asked about having 45 quarterback pressures, yet just one and a half sacks last season.

And he said, quote, I think now is the time to start really looking at sacks and getting them. I had a lot of pressures. That means I should have had a lot of sacks. I've just got to put it all together. His pressure total and pass rush win rate, according to Justin Rogers, both ranked in the top 15 last year for defensive tackles. And of course, if you're not subscribing to the Detroit Football Network with Justin Rogers, you should.

I love the attitude that Onzerique has, and I love the fact that the Lions did not break the bank to go out and try to replace him, nor did they need to. Again, value signings. Right now, the Bengals are trying to lock up T. Higgins and

and Jamar Chase and make them the highest paid wide receiver duo in the league. Has anybody seen what the Bengals defense is doing and how bad it is and how many guys have left and now Trey Hendrickson's on the trade block? You could have the two highest paid receivers in the game and they are very good players. Don't get me wrong, they're great players. Is that going to win? Or you do what the Lions are doing right now. And I said this the other day, Javon Kinlaw got $15 million a year.

left the Jets to go to the Commanders. I think that's ridiculous money. 15 million a year in his PFF grade was 17 points lower than Onzerique. Levi's issue has been health, but you continue to string together signings of players and not have to break the bank, not have to go crazy with bad contracts when you know that coming up,

You've got to keep Kirby Joseph around. You've got to keep Aiden Hutchinson around. You've got a fifth-year option for Jamison Williams. You may have to exercise this offseason. Eventually, Jack Campbell's going to be up for a contract extension. Brian Branch is going to be up for a contract extension. Amik Robertson is going into the last year of his two-year deal that he signed last offseason. The Lions are aware of this. They're smart with how they're doing this.

And waiting it out and being patient and getting Onzerike for five and a half, getting Tim Patrick for just under four. I love it. Absolutely love it. Now, do I wish they would have re-signed Kevin Zeitler? Yes. Am I concerned about the offensive line a little bit? Sure. But I think from a value standpoint, the Lions are doing this right and still have a very, very good roster. And I love how Onzerike is talking about getting those sacks and not just the pressures because the Lions still have a need for

Along their defensive line, whether it's interior or on the edge of getting to the pass route, of getting to the passer. Last game we watched them play, last two games. Think about the difference. They beat the living snot out of Sam Darnold in week 18. Now, some of it was blitzing. Some of it was scheme. But that Lions defensive line and everybody else manhandled Minnesota that day and got to Darnold to the point where they just abused him.

The next week or two weeks later, when the Lions hosted the Commanders, what happened? Jayden Daniels had all day to throw, and the Lions got smoked because he couldn't get to the passer. And I got a name to keep an eye on that we have not talked about at all that I think is going to make a big jump from this year to next year, and that's Makai Wingo, the rookie this past year from LSU who got injured toward the end of the year. We don't mention him enough on this podcast. I think he's going to break out and have a big year and really take a big step forward.

broderick martin needs to do the same we've seen two years of broderick and we've seen nothing but i still see a scenario where the lions are adding an edge rusher and also an offensive lineman in the draft and doing so pretty early on um we'll see and they might not be done with some of their own guys like john kaminsky still out there the kamesh and a few others um al-qadin muhammad still out there those are more bit players we'd all like to see some higher impact guys for sure

but there's still some money to spend for the Lions, and they've been smart with some of their value signings. Speaking of Brad Holmes, today on social media, including on his Twitter account, Terryon Arnold put out there a picture of himself with his phone, looking in the mirror, and he posted, quote, words of advice, let Brad cook.

End quote. Those of you that listened to yesterday or watched yesterday's show, I made fun of the people that were saying, let Brad cook, because I'm just tired of the cooking analogy. Oh, Russell Wilson, let Russ cook. Russell Wilson can't find a job right now. I know he's interviewing, traveling around to see the Browns and Giants, but the whole cooking thing drives me nuts. I'm about to do a little bit.

of get off my lawn guy, old man, Matt Derry, 51 year old. So bear with me. And I know I'm going to get beat up on this online, but I'm going to do it anyway. I'm a big Terry on Arnold fan. I love his game. I like the fact that as a rookie, he hung in there this year.

They had some rough moments. He's a rookie playing the toughest position on the field, I think, or one of them, and that's cornerback. And a lot of man coverage, a lot of being out on an island. And I thought Terryon Arnold, despite not grading out great, had a pretty good first year. Took his lumps, hung in there, was consistent. The other day, Terryon Arnold posted on, I think it was Instagram,

he took his fellow rookies this past week out for dinner at Sexy Steak in downtown Detroit. I have not been to Sexy Steak yet. I've heard a lot of good things. And I always like to try new places. My wife and I go downtown as much as we can. The bill for 20 people was $102,000. $102,000. And he posted it. He showed the bill. It was a video on his social media.

I know it's tradition. I know we've seen this before where a rookie will pick up the tab for a rookie dinner and then post the number and everything else. I think right now, just based on where we are in society, how people are struggling, how tons of people are getting laid off, government workers, everything that's going on. I'm not going to get political because I told you, I promised you months ago I wouldn't do it, but I thought it was a little bit tacky.

of Terry on Arnold to post the $102,000 dinner bill from sexy steak for all of us to see just me thought it was all tech. Um, this is a good dude. I'm not blasting him. I'm just throwing it out there. I think it was a little tacky and where we are today. I mean, it's amazing the amount of money that, and I'm glad, look good for these athletes. Good for these NBA players, Juan Soto and the majors got what? Six, $700 million from the Mets NFL guys are getting a lot of money.

A lot of money in free agency. Good for them, right? Whether you think, just trying to think, whether you think Sam Darnold should be getting around $40 million a year or not, he got it. Cam Bynum's getting $60 million over four years from the Colts. He got it. It's not like Will Tiemann. He got it. There's a lot of folks out there struggling, too, and people losing their jobs and the job market, you know,

rough right now for some. So when you're out there, Hey, here's my, here's my bill for $102,000 to go to dinner. I just, I don't know. Do they have to post that? But I guess everybody posts everything these days. That's just where we are in society. Hey, look at me, pick me. Um, all right, coming up next.

Call of the day, a special call of the day. And if you want to be our call of the day, go to speakpipe.com slash D-E-R-Y podcast page. We will play today's submission next.

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That's monarchmoney.com, code LOCKDOWNNFL for half off your first year. Today's show is sponsored by Indeed. If you've ever been a hiring manager, you know just how challenging it can be to find the right candidates and to do it fast. But with Indeed's sponsored jobs, there are no monthly subscriptions, no long-term contracts, and you only pay for results. There's no need to wait any longer. Speed up your hiring right now with Indeed.

Listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility at Indeed.com slash LockedOnSports. Just go to Indeed.com slash LockedOnSports right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com slash LockedOnSports. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring Indeed is all you need. All right, everybody. It is that time. Oh, by the way, a lot of reports out there. Diana Russini from The Athletic.

that Aaron Rodgers really wants the Vikings, and the Vikings are deciding if they want him. It looks like Pittsburgh wants Rodgers, but he wants Minnesota, and that's what the holdup is with Rodgers. Now, again, Vikings let Sam Darnold walk, won him 14 games this year. J.J. McCarthy is waiting in the wings, of course, after the injury and being out for the year, and do the Vikings decide, well, let's go one more year with a veteran and go for it,

With Aaron Rodgers, new offensive lineman, new defensive lineman, Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, TJ Hawk. But like, it sounds like Rodgers is waiting on the Vikings and they've had conversations. Imagine Aaron Rodgers back in the NFC North playing with his former teammate, Aaron Jones. Does that mean Alan Lazard goes with him following A-Rodge? We'll have to see, but that's sort of the hold up there. If I'm the Vikings, I'm staying away.

I'm going, I'm starting JJ McCarthy and get a veteran in there as a backup. Kyle Allen, by the way, signed with the lions. Anybody see that the veteran quarterback that has made the rounds. I don't have a lot to say about Kyle Allen as another quarterback on the lions roster, because Kyle Allen's no good. Like people like, Oh, what are your thoughts on Kyle Allen? I'm like, I don't have any. Hendon hooker's better than Kyle Allen. Jared golf's way better than Kyle Allen. I guess the lions are better.

Filling out the roster and maybe seeing if they want a third quarterback. I've watched Allen play before, whether it was Carolina or elsewhere. He's not good. So there's my one minute on Kyle Allen. All right. Let's go to speakpipe.com slash dairy podcast page. Ladies and gentlemen, today's call of the day. A special surprise as we go up to Clarkston.

Hey, Matt. Dan and Statt. Long time, first time. One of the things that I think will be interesting going into next year is with the amount of injuries that they had on defense will change up. Anything in the strength and conditioning, anything that he does with the live contact and practice. You know, they always talk about his guys will go through a wall for him and they'll do anything for him. Does he tone it down a little next year for preservation? Thanks, Matt. I'll hang up and listen.

Gannon's dad. All right. We've mentioned Gannon Druin before, wrestling star. That is his dad, Chris. We appreciate Chris checking in with us. Very, very interesting question about strength and conditioning. Lions had a new trainer this past year. And the old trainer, Kevin Bastin, was extremely popular, had been around a long time. And the Lions replaced him going into this past season. Did that have any coincidence or anything?

I don't know. I don't know. What is interesting, though, and this is Gannon's dad's question, is Dan Campbell loves pads. He loves putting the pads on the minute they can do it at any point in training camp and having a physical camp. And you're right. After last year and what happened with all the injuries, I thought last year really was fluky. I really do. But will that change Campbell's approach this year?

On one hand, you could say, we don't want to get these guys injured, right? So we're going to go light on pads and not be as physical in camp and in the preseason. Or you could say, our identity is toughness. Our identity is grit. That's who we are with the Detroit Lions. And we're going to continue to do what we do, which is be physical and see how guys line up and smash each other with the pads on. What's interesting too, Chris, is that

A year ago, or not a year ago, but I'd say in the fall, in August, we questioned, especially during the opener where the Lions didn't play their best game against the Rams and then lost against Tampa Bay. What did we say? We said, you know, none of the Lion regulars played in the preseason at all, and they look rusty. Maybe he should play them a little bit more in the preseason. Chiefs did it. Remember, Lions played the Chiefs in the preseason, and Mahomes is out here throwing behind-the-back passes to Travis Kelsey.

And they're playing their starters. And the Lions have all backups in all preseason. So it'll be interesting to see if Dan Campbell switches it up. I don't think he's going to. And in fact, I think he's going to play his starters a little bit more in the preseason than he has the last couple of years, more based on the rust factor than anything else. Well, will we see Aiden Hutchinson and Aline McNeil in the preseason? No, there's no reason to rush those guys back. But I don't see the Lions changing anything. I think they just thought this past year,

was just luck. It was just luck of the draw and bad luck that a Carlton Davis got hit by his own player, Jack Campbell, or no, Amik Robertson in the playoff game. Got hit by his own player, Jack Campbell, and injured his leg and had to miss the rest of the game. All right, that'll do it for us. Great week of Locked on Lions. Nick Shook, NFL Network and NFL.com writer will join us on Monday on a mock draft Monday. We will see you guys again. Have a great weekend.

This bracket season, FanDuel is letting you make the call because right now, new customers can get $200 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. That's $200 extra bucks to bet on everything from clutch shots to last second heartbreaks and even who's cutting down the nets. If you've been waiting to join, there's no better time. There's tourney action almost every day and FanDuel has amazing bet types like spreads, totals, game props, and so much more.

So visit FanDuel.com and get in on the College Hoops action all tourney long. Life is full of personal wins. Whether it's cleaning your house, getting that dream car, or checking off your to-do list, winning at life is a great feeling. And with the State Farm Personal Price Plan, you can keep winning when you create an affordable price just for you by bundling home and auto.

So give yourself a round of applause. Talk to a State Farm agent today to learn how you can bundle and save with a personal price plan. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Prices are based on rating plans that vary by state. Coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability, amount of discounts and savings, and eligibility vary by state.