Lions cut LB Graham, sign another WR
The Lions released former Michigan linebacker Chris Graham on Friday, while also signing receiver Tommy Saunders, an undrated free agent out of Missouri.
Graham, who signed with the Lions late last season, became expendable when the Lions signed veteran free agent Larry Foote, another former U-M linebacker, on Wednesday. Saunders, whose 150 career receptions ranks sixth on the school's all-time list, participated in Tampa Bay's rookie minicamp last weekend. But the 5-foot-11, 201-pound prospect agreed to terms on a free-agent deal with the Lions on Tuesday.
"Any time you step into a situation where players don't know you and the coaches don't really know who you are, you're trying to prove yourself and show them what you're all about," Saunders told the Columbia (Mo.) Daily Tribune. "It's kind of the same mentality you have to have going into this situation to make the team. You go out there and work the hardest you can regardless if the coaches know you or not. I just want to try the best I can to be the best receiver I can be."
Saunders joins a crowd, with a dozen receivers on the Lions' offseason roster. Among them is Saunders' former Missouri teammate, Will Franklin, a 2008 fourth-round pick of the Kansas City Chiefs who was claimed off waivers by Detroit last month.
Calvin and Bryant Johnson are the projected starters, with Ronald Curry and Derrick Williams likely fighting for the No. 3 job. But Saunders joins the mix for the No. 5 role, with a bunch of others, including Franklin, Keary Colbert (re-signed Thursday), John Standeford and Eric Fowler.
