The Detroit Lions’ big swing move in the 2025 NFL draft was to trade up for wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa out of Arkansas, a questionable move considering the rookie hadn’t been very targeted with the Razorbacks in 2024 nor had he been on many teams’ radars headed into the 2025 draft.
But, he’s here. He’ll be likely utilized as a blocker on most plays, and likely as a trickster playmaker in Dan Campbell’s universe of trick play calls. He’s big, athletic, and has solid hands, so he should carve a role in the Lions’ offense if he works at it. It’ll make the trade up far more digestible if he does.
However, the Lions were outshined in terms of trade ups during the draft by the Atlanta Falcons. Not only did they take linebacker Jalon Walker at 15th overall in the 1st round, but they traded back up to snag James Pearce Jr. off the board at 26th overall. All of a sudden, Atlanta has a scarily young and athletic pass rush.
It’s the type of draft that Lions fans could’ve only dreamed of seeing from Detroit, especially since they really could have used Pearce, for example, to pair up alongside Aidan Hutchinson in their pass rush. Alas, the Falcons decided to get greedy, and now the Lions get to bear the brunt of that immediately in the preseason.
Atlanta squaring off with Detroit in preseason bout
The Falcons will be hosting the Lions on August 8th at 7 p.m. EST, where both teams are likely to trot out their respective rookies. Ahmed Hassanein, who the Lions selected in the 6th round of the draft, will probably get some burn at pass rush and will compete with Pearce and Walker for bragging rights in this contest.
Both Walker and Pearce would have been the ideal pass rushers to add to the Lions’ defense, but both were always going to be a bit out of reach for Detroit in the draft. Atlanta had to give up a haul just to nab Pearce – a first rounder in 2026 to the Los Angeles Rams in addition to a 2nd round and 7th round pick in 2025.
That was always going to be too rich for Lions GM Brad Holmes’ blood. But, it’ll be just a tad bittersweet to see what could’ve been with Pearce, at least, with Detroit. Hopefully, Hassanein can prove us all wrong and show out in preseason and the regular season.
This article first appeared on Side Lion Report and was syndicated with permission.
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Former Packers kicker signs with 49ers
Earlier this offseason, the Green Bay Packers accomplished one of their primary goals by locking in a reliable kicker for the foreseeable future. Brandon McManus, signed midseason after Brayden Narveson struggled through the first seven weeks, inked a three-year, $15.3 million contract to stay with the Packers.
In 2024, McManus made 20-of-21 field-goal attempts, his 95.2% percentage ranking second in franchise history for a single season. At the time of his addition, Narveson had the worst field goal percentage in the NFL among qualified kickers with 70.6%. Packers started 2024 offseason with Anders Carlson and Greg Joseph competing for starting job Of course, neither McManus nor Narveson was part of Green Bay’s roster when the 2024 offseason began.
Anders Carlson was drafted in 2023 to replace franchise-leading scorer Mason Crosby. The expectation was that he would continue the reliable kicking standard that Crosby had set during his 16 seasons with the Packers. But he did not. As a rookie, Carlson made 81.8% of his field goals and a woeful 87.2% of his extra points.
Due to his struggles, Green Bay signed veteran kicker Greg Joseph to compete with Carlson for the starting job in 2024. Unfortunately, both were underwhelming in training camp and the preseason, leading the Packers to release them and sign Narverson. Former Packers kicker Greg Joseph hopes to find home with 49ers After being released by the Packers, Joseph, who has a career field goal percentage of 82.3% and has made more game-winning field goals than anyone in NFL history, bounced around the NFL.
He beat out Carlson for a spot on the Detroit Lions’ practice squad, but was soon claimed by the New York Giants, with whom he played six games. However, the Giants only used him as a placeholder and eventually released him. Joseph also appeared in a game apiece for the Washington Commanders and New York Jets in 2024.
He finished the season with an 80% field goal percentage and made all his extra points. Earlier on Friday, it was reported that he is joining the San Francisco 49ers, hoping that he will win their starting job: Joseph will be competing against Jake Moody, whom the 49ers inexplicably drafted in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Last season, Moody played 14 games while dealing with some injuries and made just 70.6% of his field goals. If Joseph has a good training camp, he could easily displace Moody in San Francisco.
Chicago Sky receiving shame for Angel Reese Player of the Game post after 93-58 loss
Dallas Stars Owner Makes Touching Gesture to Mark Scheifele After His Father’s…
Mark Scheifele has been through a very tough last 48 hours, and now the Dallas Stars owner has made a very touching gesture towards the Winnipeg Jets star. The Winnipeg Jets lost in Game 6 against the Dallas Stars, but the bigger overall story of this whole series was the tragic passing of Brad Scheifele, Mark’s father just hours before Game 6 in Dallas.
There have been some incredible tributes given to Schefiele and his family, as he shown amazing courage and strength to get through the game, scoring the only goal in the Jets 2-1 overtime defeat. Stars fans have taken to donating $55 for 55 to Scheifele’s charities following the news breaking, and now, it’s been revealed that the Dallas Stars owner himself has made a very touching gesture towards the veteran forward.
It has been revealed that Tom Gaglardi has flown Scheifele home to Kitchener in Ontario on his private plane after Game 6, allowing Scheifele to get home and be with his family following the tragic weekend that he’s been through. If this is true, it would be an amazing gesture from Gaglardi to Scheifele, and although it’s not much of a financial burden, it’s a very small move that has allowed the veteran to get home to his family much quicker and in much more comfort.
Once again, this is just another example of how this is all much bigger than hockey, as the players and people involved in the sport are much more important than what happens on the ice, so this is a great way to show love towards Scheifele after a brutal series between the two teams.
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Browns veteran has message for NFL over disrespectful move
The NFL has determined that the Cleveland Browns are a team most fans will not have interest in watching during the 2025 season, and veteran defensive tackle Shelby Harris recently delivered a message to the league about that. The Browns do not have a single prime-time game on their schedule heading into the upcoming season.
They have an international game against the Minnesota Vikings in London in Week 5, and there is always a chance one of their games could be flexed into prime time. For now, it appears as though the NFL is not expecting much improvement from a Browns team that went 3-14 last season.
Harris was asked about that during an appearance on the “Honor the Land” podcast after the full NFL schedule was released on Wednesday. The 33-year-old insisted he is not letting it bother him. “I’ll say it like this, you know, they can count us out all they want to,” Harris said, via Bobby Cownack of NFL.com.
“It’s up to us to go into the season and start whooping people’s a–es. I get it. Last year wasn’t the season that we expected, and now this year they’re going to say we didn’t get prime time because of all of the quarterback controversy. Who cares? Screw ’em.”
Deshaun Watson is expected to miss the entire 2025 season after he suffered a setback during his recovery from a torn Achilles. That has left the Browns with an open competition at quarterback between Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. While the Sanders storyline is an intriguing one, there is as much uncertainty as ever surrounding the Browns.
The NFL obviously does not want to gamble on giving Kevin Stefanski’s team a prime-time slot given how things went last season and the lack of clarity at the most important position on the field. If the Browns are competitive this season, most people would be surprised. Harris and his teammates would be wise to use that skepticism as motivation.
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Caitlin Clark took shot at Angel Reese while explaining hard foul
Caitlin Clark seemingly took a shot at Angel Reese in explaining her hard foul that sparked an incident during Saturday’s WNBA opener. Clark was assessed a flagrant for a hard foul against Reese during Saturday’s game between the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, In. Reese reacted badly to the foul and tried to confront Clark after as the Indiana guard was walking away.
ESPN’s Holly Rowe asked Clark about the foul during a postgame interview, and Clark responded by essentially questioning why Reese was so upset over it. “It’s just a good take foul,” Clark said. “Either Angel gets a wide-open two points, or we send them to the free-throw line. Nothing malicious about it. It’s just a good take foul. Every basketball player knows that.”
To many, the last portion of Clark’s comment was a shot at Reese’s reaction to the foul. Of course, the Sky were losing at the time, so it is entirely plausible that there was much more than just the foul that went into Reese’s response. After all, she and Clark have plenty of personal history. Reese, for her part, was not eager to escalate the situation in her own postgame remarks about the foul.
The personal rivalry between Clark and Reese will only continue to draw more attention as long as incidents like this keep happening. Clark got the better of Reese on Sunday, scoring 20 points and notching a triple-double in a blowout 93-58 victory.
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