With a slick, new, modernized look, the Detroit Lions unveiled their new uniform Thursday night, with a mini fashion show on Twitter.
Nothing but 🔥🔥🔥!
Check out the new threads ➡️ https://t.co/ElZ8aiECWi pic.twitter.com/9nsMJEL4Jd
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) April 14, 2017
The Lions didn’t go for a wholesale change with the new unis, instead they just sharpened up their classic colors, going with a darker blue and a darker silver. The new helmet looks particularly nice as they’ve gone with a metallic silver paint coat and a triple blue stripe down the middle, instead of the black and blue stripes of yeas past.
There’s no black or white on the home uniform, which I dig. Instead they’ve got two-tone silver numbers. “Lions” is on a stripe on the right shoulder and “WCF,” standing for former Lions owner William Clay Ford, is on the left. The facemask is now silver too.
The Away unis will feature blue pants and socks, which will look sharp in action. It’s a white jersey with blue numbers and a silver outline.
The color rush is probably my favorite of the bunch, going full gray (or silver, I’m sure), with white numbers and a blue outline.
The Lions will also bring back their throwback uniforms this season.
The Detroit Lions begin their 2017 preseason campaign at the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Aug. 23. The Lions host the Arizona Cardinals for the regular season opener on Sept. 10.
Clowney and Texans will stay together a fifth year
Just a couple of days after the Los Angeles Rams picked up Aaron Donald’s fifth-year option, the other star defensive lineman from that draft, Jadeveon Clowney, got news from the Houston Texans that they too would like to retain his services for a fifth season.
It took Clowney a few years to get going, with injuries hobbling his NFL career right out of the gate, but the former No. 1 pick blasted into the upper echelon of the NFL defensive players last season. Last year Clowney recorded 52 tackles, 17 for a loss (which led the NFL with five other players) six sacks, two pass defenses and one forced fumble.
Under the current collective bargaining agreement, all rookie draft pick contracts are for four years, with teams having the option to keep a player a fifth year at an increased salary. It won’t come to that as this is just an insurance move from the Texans. They’ll work out a long-term contract with Clowney sometime this season.
NFL suspends Murphy for four games
Washington Redskins defensive end Trent Murphy has been suspended for the first four games of the 2017 after failing the NFL’s performance enhancing drug program.
Murphy is coming off a break-out season, which doesn’t seem so surprising now that I think about it. In 2o16, the former second round pick out of Stanford, recorded 36 tackles, one pass defense, one fumble recovery and nine sacks.
Jets lose two Marshalls to PED suspensions
A week after losing wide receiver Jalin Marshall to a four-game PED suspension, the Jets got word Friday that they’d be without cornerback and kick returner Nick Marshall’s services over those same four games for the exact same reasons.
Nick Marshall played in eight games last season and returned six putns for 39 yards and 12 kicks for 168 yards. He also recovered a fumble.
Jalin Marshall had one start and played in 10 games. He returned 18 punts for 100 yards and 13 kicks for 324 yards. He caught 14 passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns. On special teams he forced four fumbles and recovered two.
Roddy White finally accepts reality
After a year of sitting out of the NFL with no one calling for his services, former Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White has decided to officially retire.
“I would like to thank Arthur Blank and the (Falcons) organization for a great 11 years,” White said. “The city of Atlanta I love y’all so much. I’m officially retired from football and welcome the second phase of my life.”
White should have plenty of fun in that second life phase, as he’s joining the John’s Creek High School football coaching staff in John’s Creek, Ga.
White spent all 11 years of his career with the Falcons after being drafted in the first round of the 2005 draft out of UAB. White’s best season was in 2010 when he caught a league-leading 115 passes for 1,389 yards and 10 touchdowns. White had six consecutive 1,000-yard seasons from 2007-2012.
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