The Lions signed wide receiver Brian Clark Saturday, according to Aaron Wilson.
Our View: Clark tried out alongside Allen Barbre, Tony Ugoh and Adam Terry and impressed enough to win a spot. He’ll be a special teams contributor at best.
The Lions have signed free agent offensive tackle Tony Ugoh.
Our View: A former Colt, he had been unsigned since late September. He’s unlikely to stick with the Lions for much longer than a week.
Isaiah Ekejiuba (knee) has been placed on injured reserve, according to the Detroit Free-Press’ Dave Birkett.
Our View: A special teamer, he had 10 tackles one forced fumble in nine games this season. He should be back in Detroit in 2011.
NFL.com lists Calvin Johnson (groin) as probable for Sunday’s matchup with the Packers.
Our View: He was limited on Friday, and while he may not be 100 percent on Sunday, he is a must-start on a weekly basis. Johnson has terrorized opponents for 872 yards and 12 touchdowns this year.
The Lions have placed Derrick Williams on injured reserve due to an ankle injury and signed Brian Clark to replace him on the roster.
Our View: The second-year wide receiver out of Penn Satate had caught just three passes for 30 yards this season.
Calvin Johnson hinted during a radio appearance Thursday that he’s becoming unhappy with the Lions’ inability to contend.
"Put it like this, if we turn this thing into a winner, I’m happy," he said. "I’ve won 11 games since I’ve been here in four years. Losing definitely sucks. … I can’t get used to it because I haven’t come from that. I’ve been used to winning. And if this thing can’t get turned around, man, like I said — I’m just going to leave it at I can’t get used to it. I want to win." Getting better pass protection and Matthew Stafford to stay healthy would go a long way toward keeping Megatron happy. He’s currently signed through 2012.
MLive.com believes that Jahvid Best’s (toe), health has improved enough to where he could pick up double-digit carries per game over the final few weeks.
Our View: If Best somehow turned it around during the fantasy playoffs, a good portion of the ill-will he built with owners over the previous three months could be forgotten. The report makes mention that Best’s 45-yard a week ago helped the Lions post respectable rushing marks against Chicago. We’d like to add that Best will still have battle Maurice Morris for carries and that if you take away the one burst out from last week, Best had just 20 yards on his other eight carries. You can’t risk giving him a start until he proves he can pull off a full-game of productive rushing.
Calvin Johnson (groin) was again limited in Thursday’s practice.
Our View: Of course, no one seems to expect him to miss the game. We don’t either. Go ahead and plan on starting Johnson as a low-end WR1 this week, and remember that he’s scored six TD against Green Bay in only five games.
Matthew Stafford (shoulder) did some light throwing on Wednesday. But, MLive.com reports that he is absent from Lions’ practice today.
Our View: Although you have to appreciate the spirit, Stafford should probably just mothball the season at this point, instead of pushing for a game or two of action at the end of Detroit’s current 2-10 campaign.
Despite the fact that Matthew Stafford has resumed playing soft toss, Tom Kowalski of MLive.com does not believe that Stafford (shoulder) will play again this season.
Kowalski’s prediction appears to be based on Stafford’s comments after the extremely limited workout, as the 2009 No. 1 overall pick clearly doesn’t sound anywhere near 100 percent. "It wasn’t terrible," said Stafford. "It wasn’t too bad." Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press also is less than convinced that Staffod will play another down this season.