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Larry Foote is going to walk
Written by Al Beaton   
Wednesday, 03 February 2010 23:42

Remember when Larry Foote said he wanted to end his career as a Detroit Lion?

Things change.

John Niyo of the Detroit News is reporting contract talks between the Lions and their incumbent starting middle linebacker, Larry Foote, are going nowhere. The Detroit native believes the Lions are not interested in retaining his services, so he's gong to entertain free agent contract offers starting March 5th.

"We're just going to free agency and see from there," said Foote, citing unproductive talks between his agent, Brian Levy, and Lions general manager Martin Mayhew. "I mean, obviously, I'm not a big priority for them. So that's just how I'm taking it."

As well as Foote played for the Lions in 2009, their defense remained at the bottom of the NFL. Foote's performance also tailed off as the season went on, after making an impact early in the year. So instead of bringing back a declining player looking to get paid, I'm guessing the Lions believe they already have their middle linebacker of the future on the roster. A player who's younger, cheaper and under team control for 2 more years, DeAndre Levy.

Larry Foote

Gimme my money!

Levy was drafted as a middle linebacker out of Wisconsin in the '09 draft, but played out of position, and played well, on the outside after Ernie Sims was injured.  The Lions obviously don't feel they need to bring Foote back, at least not at his current asking price, with Levy in the fold.

I'm not at all thrilled by the prospect of the Lions allowing a legit NFL player in Foote to walk, or losing what little depth they do have on defense. But I can understand why Martin Mayhew doesn't want to give a long-term deal to a linebacker who faded late, and is going to be 30 years old when the 2010 season starts.

Foote did give the Lions a hometown discount last year, turning down their 2 year offer in order to sign a 1 year contract, in the hope of landing a big money, long-term deal the following season.

Unfortunately for Foote, that deal is not going to come from the team he rooted for as a child. In fact, it may not come from any NFL team at all, even in what's looking to be an uncapped season, which is why I'm not fully ruling out Foote returning to the Lions.

As I said, things change.



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Comments (1)Add Comment
Foote
written by Remembering_Greg_Landry, February 04, 2010
I don't think this is good at all. What was Peterson's salary vs. Foote's? Or what Foote is asking for next year? I finally stopped losing sleep over one position and I'm just guessing by the middle of next season, Peterson will be gone also, Levy will be injured, and Sims will be playing like crap. Just goes to show as a Lions fan, you can never rest. The week before Pettigrew was injured, I thought to myself, self, TE may be the one bright spot for the Lions. Pettigrew is starting to show some promise, Heller and Fitzsimmons seem capable, and even Gronkowski is still on the practice squad and might see some late season action. Little did I know.

Good luck with the AS, Al. Just did a little reading on it on Wikipedia. Sounds like some nasty stuff. You deserve a reward, like maybe a playoff win by your favorite team next year....but I'm not holding my breath. Maybe you'll have to be content with your GF fixing your favorite dinner.

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