04/09/2006

Kaleita's push to make Lions is a longshot

BY JAMES COOK
Record-Eagle sports writer

Unfortunately for Kingsley grad and Detroit Lions offensive tackle Tom Kaleita, the Lions went out and addressed the offensive line, and may even more in the upcoming draft that is deep in blockers.

Free agents Rex Tucker, Courtney VanBuren and Barry Stokes have all been starting offensive linemen in the NFL at various points in the careers and Tucker was a Pro Bowl alternate once. Those signings will make it difficult for the former Eastern Michigan standout to make the Lions' final roster.

Ironically, Stokes is represented by the same agent as Kaleita and they both play tackle. And the ability of all three of the recent signings to not only play tackle, but guard as well, could put Kaleita behind the eight ball.

The signings gives the Lions nine veteran blockers, at least one or two of which Kaleita will have to leap-frog in training camp in order to make the final roster. The Lions did release David Loverne, thankfully, and free agent bust Rick DeMulling will have to play much better in camp this year to have a shot of holding down his spot.

The Lions do seem content to let backup center Brock Gutierrez leave.

Gutierrez, a former Central Michigan standout and owner of a restaurant in Cadillac, was a guy Steve Mariucci brought with him from San Francisco.

Similar players such as Paul Smith, R.W. McQuarters, guard Kyle Kosier and quarterback Jeff Garcia have all been let go this off-season as Detroit tries to make a clean break from the Mooch days.

Another strike against Kaleita, who the Lions allocated to play in NFL Europe to get him some more seasoning and is now a starter for the Berlin Thunder, is the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The old CBA allowed teams to exempt up to eight NFL Europe players from their roster count during training camp, thus protecting them from the NFL-mandated cut-downs and meaning they would most likely be on the team right up until the last cuts, giving them more time to impress the coaching staff and hopefully earn a spot on the roster or practice squad.

That changed with the new CBA.

The new CBA makes teams cut down to 75 players instead of 65 by Aug. 29, giving them 10 more players, but not guaranteeing those extra players will be NFL Europe guys. That may hurt Kaleita, especially given the Lions' recent signings of three veteran linemen.

If the names of those linemen don't ring a bell, you're not alone.

The Lions haven't made the biggest splash in this year's free agency, but have been making the right moves.