The Lions' offseason plan: Taking advantage of 'being crappy'
That was Jim Schwartz's off-the-cuff rallying cry back in January, and he has repeated it more than once since: Let's take advantage of being crappy.
And that's what the front office is trying to do, making use of the catbird's seat on the waiver wire after last season's 0-16 finish. The Lions have claimed a half-dozen players off waivers since February: receiver Will Franklin (since cut), tackle Kirk Barton, defensive end Jason Hunter, linebacker Curtis Gatewood, and this week cornerback Tra Battle and defensive end Brian Johnston.
Three of those players, not coincidentally, played last season in Kansas City, where the Chiefs are cleaning house a bit under new management. (The cynical take: Lions fans wanted Scott Pioli. Instead, they're getting the players Pioli didn't want.) And both Gatewood and Johnston were part of Gunther Cunningham's defense, so they're known commodities, if serious longshots to make the 53-man roster.
But before you start wailing about Kansas City becoming the new Tampa Bay, a la Rod Marinelli, keep in mind this is pretty standard stuff. New coaching staffs always try to bring in some players that they know and that know their system. (Salaam, Hicks, Loper and King also fit this profile, by the way, as would Kevin Carter, perhaps the biggest free-agent target left for the Lions.)
Updated 1:45 p.m.: Make that seven players claimed off waivers. Forgot to include TE/DE Sean Conover, claimed from the N.Y. Jets back in February.
