Check out all of our 2009 NFL team previews.

Offseason Additions: Julian Peterson (LB); Larry Foote (LB); Phillip Buchanon (CB); Grady Jackson (DT); Bryant Johnson (WR).

Offseason Losses: Leigh Bodden (CB); Shaun McDonald (WR); Mike Fuerry (WR); Shaun Cody (DT); Paris Lenon (LB); George Foster (OT); Dan Orlovsky (QB).

Player to Watch: Louis Delmas, S.
Delmas, the Lions’ second round pick this year, immediately started turning heads in OTAs and continued to impress coaches with his aggressiveness and tenacity throughout training camp (although he did miss time due to a swollen knee). The former Western Michigan product is already drawing comparisons to the Colts’ Bob Sanders, which is quite a compliment considering how accomplished Sanders is. Delmas isn’t afraid of contact and flies to the football. While he needs to develop his pass coverage skills, he might lead the Lions in tackles this season.

Team Strength: There isn’t one positional unit on this team that can be deemed a strength, although wide receiver Calvin Johnson is so good that he can probably carry the moniker on his own. Johnson is a phenomenal athlete and gives the Lions’ offense a dynamic playmaker at receiver. Opposing teams try to blanket him in coverage and he still finds ways to get open and come away with the ball. As long as he stays healthy (he missed two weeks of training camp with a sprained thumb), CJ is in store for another monster season, no matter whom the Lions wind up starting at quarterback.

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Even though training camp is still over a month away, the talk in Detroit right now is whether or not the Lions should start rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford in Week 1 of the regular season.

Before we debate this topic, let’s get something out of the way first because I know there’s a commenter out there who just can’t wait to throw out this boring, overused statement: It’s way too early to know whether or not Stafford should start Week 1 considering it’s only June and we haven’t seen him take one snap against live action (either in practice or preseason).

But I’m going to throw the topic out there anyway because it takes the sting out of knowing that the NFL season is still light years away. So save all of your, “It’s way too early to tell,� comments and tuck them under your pillow to be used at another time.

There will be two names that some Lions fans will throw out there when making the argument that Stafford should start as a rookie: Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco. If Ryan and Flacco could respectively lead the Falcons and Ravens to the playoffs, why couldn’t Stafford do the same with the Lie-Downs?

The difference is that Ryan and Flacco had help. The Falcons hit a home run with free agent running back Michael Turner, who carried the ball 376 times and helped take the burden off Ryan by opening up lanes in the passing game. Ryan also benefited from having a solid receiver corps (led by Roddy White), as well as an offensive line that overachieved and stayed healthy. Don’t forget that Ryan was also considered one of the most NFL-ready quarterbacks to come out of college in the past couple years.

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According to Mlive.com, the Lions have reached an agreement with former Steelers’ linebacker Larry Foote, who will play middle linebacker for them next season.

Foote, who turns 29 next month, is hoping to eventually sign a more lucrative contract after this season turned down the two-year offer.

Foote, a seven-year veteran, was a full-time starter for the Steelers for the last five seasons and didn’t miss a game during that span. Foote’s tackling numbers have declined in each of the last four years, from a high of 102 in 2005 to 63 last season.

Now we know why Lions’ GM Martin Mayhew passed on a middle linebacker with the No. 20 and No. 33 picks in last month’s draft when USC’s Rey Maualuga and Ohio State’s James Laurinaitis were still on the board. Mayhew knew that the Steelers would eventually release Foote and that he wanted to come to Detroit, which is where he grew up and attended high school.

Mayhew has done a nice job in his first offseason with the Lions. He added talent via the draft in quarterback Matthew Stafford, tight end Brandon Pettigrew and safety Louis Delmas and he has signed quality role players in free agents Grady Jackson, Philip Buchanon and now Foote. Whether or not all of his moves will pan out is still up in the air, but Lion fans have to at least be pleased that Mayhew has a plan and is executing it.

I’m going to preface this post by apologizing for not having a link, but Terry Foster from WXYT Sports Radio in Detroit just reported on his talk show that the Browns could release defensive tackle Shaun Rogers and if they did, he wants to play for the Lions again.

This is a massive rumor and I suggest everyone takes it with a huge grain of salt, but considering Rogers and new Cleveland head coach Eric Mangini didn’t get off on the right foot when they first met, it’s not far-fetched that the Browns would part ways with the defensive tackle. Plus, by dealing Kellen Winslow to the Buccaneers earlier this offseason and nearly trading wideout Braylon Edwards before the draft, it’s clear that Mangini wants his own players and isn’t afraid to part with anyone from the old regime.

But the reality of the situation is that the Browns would take a cap hit of around $9 million in they released Rogers and he’s coming off a Pro Bowl season. The Browns also didn’t address the defensive line position in last week’s draft (second round pick David Veikune played defensive end at Hawaii, but Cleveland views him as an outside linebacker) and they don’t have a viable replacement for Rogers if they did part ways with him. Plus, Rogers reported to the Browns’ offseason workouts in late March, so any ill-will towards Mangini apparently has been settled.

It also doesn’t make much sense that the Lions would want him back after trading him last offeason. While it’s true Matt Millen is the one who dealt him to Cleveland, current GM Martin Mayhew worked under Millen last year and no doubt had a hand in trading Rogers. So outside of adding a talented player to their defensive line, why would the Lions want him back? It’s not like he endeared himself to many people in Detroit with his lazy work ethic and ho-hum demeanor.

I would file this away in the rumor file for now, but I thought it was an interesting rumor so I figured I would post something on it.

Tom Kowalski of Mlive.com speculates that the reason why the Lions passed on a middle linebacker in last weekend’s draft was because they knew the Steelers would release Larry Foote shortly thereafter.

Let’s put a couple of factors together and see what we come up with — the Detroit Lions passed on a taking a middle linebacker in the first two rounds, Pittsburgh inside linebacker Larry Foote was just released in a widely anticipated move and Foote has not hidden his desire to return to Detroit and play for his hometown Lions.

Many Lions fans were surprised when the team passed on Ohio State’s James Laurinaitis and USC’s Rey Maualuga with the team’s No. 20 and No. 33 selections. It’s possible the Lions knew that Foote would be released soon and they might be in the running to sign him. Another factor why the Lions would pass on a rookie and try to get Foote — or another veteran — is the fact that defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham has a well-documented disdain for starting a lot of rookies at the same time.

Foote, who will be 29 in June, has played seven years in the league and has started the last five seasons and hasn’t missed a game due to injury in the last six years. He’s also helped the Steelers win a couple of those Lombardi Trophy things.

Foote graduated from Pershing High School in Detroit and already expressed interest in playing in his home state earlier this offseason. If Mayhew did pass on a linebacker in the draft knowing that Foote would be available soon thereafter, it was a clever move on his part and it would certainly help answer some questions regarding the Lions draft.

If the Lions do sign Foote, then the selections of Bradon Pettigrew and Louis Delmas in the first two rounds look pretty solid – especially considering both players were the top-rated prospects at their respective positions.

Of course, if Foote signs with someone else, then this move will backfire horribly because Detroit would be left with Jordon Dizon as their starting middle linebacker. And given that Matt Millen drafted Dizon, chances are the young man doesn’t have much upside.

There’s a notion currently making its rounds on the net that the Lions should allow the time to expire on draft day and pass on the No. 1 pick, essentially relieving themselves of the financial burden that comes along with having the top overall selection.

Given how ridiculous the rookie salaries are these days in the NFL and the fact that it’s a weak draft class, the idea makes sense. If the Lions allow the Rams, Chiefs or Seahawks to select before they do, then they’ll be on the hook financially for the No. 2, No. 3 or No. 4 pick and not the top spot.

But while in theory it makes sense, realistically Detroit could lose more than it gains in the end. First of all, the Lions have holes all over their roster and they need to address those needs by getting quality players. And if they do strike gold with those selections, whether they pay now or later, they’ll eventually have to pay. To be clearer, if they allow the clock to expire and take Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford at No. 3 instead of No. 1 and he becomes a Pro Bowler over the next couple years, his next contract is going to be hefty regardless of what he signed his rookie deal for. So again, whether they pay now or later, they’ll have to pay if they wind up getting a good player.

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Lions’ GM Martin Mayhew says he’s open to trading the No. 1 overall pick in April’s NFL draft.

When asked specifically about Jay Cutler and if Mayhew would consider trading the top pick for the unhappy Broncos quarterback, he didn’t shoot down the idea.

“We’re open to all options with that pick,� Mayhew said during a break at the NFL Annual Meeting.

“Obviously, it has value to us, and if it has value to somebody else, then we can talk about that.�

On Sunday, Lions president Tom Lewand told Tom Kowalski of Booth Newspapers in Lansing, Mich., that the team was looking forward to discussions with “agents of players we’re interested in.� Speculation elsewhere has identified the Lions’ leading candidate as Baylor offensive tackle Jason Smith.

Before Lion fans start doing back flips about the possibility of trading out of the No. 1 slot in hopes to acquire more draft picks and essentially get better value for their selections, trading out of the top spot isn’t like shopping for toilet paper. It’s just not that easy – especially when there isn’t an elite prospect that multiple teams are after. (I know Aaron Curry is a stud, but he’s still not a prospect that multiple teams are going to trip over in trying to trade for the No. 1 pick.)

The last time the No. 1 overall pick was successfully traded was in 2001 when the Chargers dealt the top selection to the Falcons for the 5th overall pick, a third round pick and a second round pick in 2002. But Atlanta wanted Michael Vick and didn’t know if he would slide to No. 5 if they waited. Guys like Curry, Matthew Stafford, Jason Smith and Eugene Monroe aren’t going to garner that kind of attention, so I would imagine that the Lions will still be drafting out of that slot come next month.

Click here for six observations on Super Bowl XLIII.

Lucifer himself might as well have created the Monday after Super Bowl Sunday.

Is that extreme? No.

The Monday after the Super Bowl signals the end of another NFL season and that means there is no football on the horizon unless you’re one of the 10 people that watches the Pro Bowl. There are seven months between now and the start of preseason games, which makes me sick to think about. If I could freeze myself for the next seven months and thaw just in time for the 2009 season, I would.

Is that extreme? No.

But fear not my football friends because even though there isn’t any football this Sunday, it doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to get excited about while looking ahead. Below are 10 things to look forward to now that the Super Bowl is over. (And so that you don’t have to freeze yourself for the next seven months.)

Before you read on, realize that I’m not going to copout and write about how free agency and the draft are things to look forward to. Of course they are, but let’s get more specific here, people.

The Detroit Lions found their next head coach in former Tennessee Titans’ defensive coordinator Jim Swartz, who was hired Thursday evening to take over a franchise in dire need of a facelift.

At least as a head coach, Swartz is unproven, untested and his ability to lead a team (especially one coming off an 0-16 season) is unresolved. Can he do it? Can he take the Lions from the pits of hell to at the very least, mediocrity? Maybe. Or maybe he follows in the footsteps of Rod Marinelli, Steve Mariucci and Marty Mornhinweg and gets ushered out the door as quickly as he was rushed in.

Lion fans had to have felt a little better when they woke up this morning. Matt Millen isn’t the general manager anymore, change is in the air and another offseason of free agent signings and high draft picks is upon them. But the cold, hard reality of the situation is that Martin Mayhew (Millen’s understudy) is the general manager, Swartz (again, unproven) is the change and what’s the point of getting excited about another offseason when failure is quickly to follow it?

If you ask me, William Clay Ford Sr. got it wrong again. He should have hired somebody from a winning organization (somebody who has won somewhere, sometime) to be the general manager instead of Mayhew. Why would you want the guy that was under Millen? Why would you want the guy that was three people under Millen for that matter? If they wanted real change, then they should have air raided the entire front office and started from scratch. (Although to be fair, Mayhew’s first move was trading Roy Williams to Dallas for draft picks, which looks like it was a solid move.)

It’s hard not to give a first-year head coach like Swartz a chance because of the success rookie head coaches John Harbaugh (Baltimore), Tony Sparano (Miami) and Mike Smith (Atlanta) had this year. But Swartz won’t be able to do his job effectively unless Mayhew does his.

The Lions have a long ways to go to get the taste of 0-16 out of their mouths. Change is what they needed, but is Mayhew and Swartz the right change? Time will tell.