Faggins, Standeford signed; Levi pays a visit
Another busy Tuesday in Allen Park, with two players signed, one veteran released and one big free agent in for a workout.
With cornerback Eric King lost for the season to a shoulder injury, the Lions signed Demarcus Faggins, a 5-10, 182-pound cornerback who started 13 games the last two seasons in Houston. "Petey" -- that's his nickname" -- was with Tennessee this past offseason but was one of the Titans' final roster cuts. Not sure how much help he'll be here, but for now I'd imagine it's Buchanon/Henry and James as your starters, with Hobbs playing the nickel and Faggins inactive on gamedays.
The Lions also brought back one of their own final preseason cuts, WR John Standeford, and released Chuck Darby, which might be bad news and good news for this week at Green Bay. With Darby gone, that's a sign DT Sammie Hill's may be ready to return to the lineup after missing the last two weeks with an ankle injury. But bringing back Standeford might mean Calvin Johnson's not looking good for the Packers game. Or maybe not, I suppose. The Lions were operating with only four WRs on the roster after Adam Jennings was put on IR and replaced with safety Marvin White off waivers last week. That was a mistake the Lions made last year, and it might've cost them Sunday against the Steelers, playing with only three healthy WRs for most of the game.
Among Tuesday's workouts was a notable veteran free agent offensive tackle, Levi Jones, who continues to search for a new team. The 6-5, 310-pound left tackle worked out for Green Bay a week ago and also made the rounds in early August. Jones' agent, Ken Zuckerman, confirmed the workout in Detroit earlier today. But with more pressing roster moves this week for the Lions, there's no plan to sign Jones at this point. Interesting, though. Not sure if this is a commentary at all on Jeff Backus or Gosder Cherilus, who missed Sunday's game with a shoulder injury, or perhaps the veteran backups behind them. But Jones, a longtime starter for Cincinnati who was released after the Bengals drafted Andre Smith in April, hasn't played right tackle before.
