Lions Beef Up With Grady Jackson

There were no bright spots in the 2008 Lions season, except that it ended. Predictably, coaches were fired, players were released and the arduous task of rebuilding is now underway. (Although, to be fair, Detroit has been rebuilding for the entire decade, but that was part of some Matt Millen master plan gone horribly wrong.)

Whatever, change is on the way, as they say. New head coach Jim Schwartz is young, smart and seemingly motivated. The Lions have yet to make headline-grabbing personnel moves, but they have signed wide receiver Bryant Johnson and running back Maurice Morris, and parted ways with over-the-hill Jon Kitna and the ineffective Leigh Bodden. And Wednesday, they also added defensive tackle Grady Jackson.

The Lions signed veteran free-agent defensive tackle Grady Jackson to a three-year, $8 million contract Wednesday in a move to fortify their interior front. Jackson, a 12-year NFL veteran, spent most of the past three seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, for whom he played mostly on run downs.

The 36-year-old, 350-pounder wasn't re-signed as part of a youth movement on Atlanta's defense. Jackson, in turn, returns to the NFC North, where he played for the Green Bay Packers from 2003 to 2005.

Shaun Rogers was labeled an underachiever during his time in Detroit, but even going at less than full speed, he was better than what Chuck Darby provided a season ago. Hence the move to sign his 350-pound replacement.

Next up: figuring out how to trade for Jay Cutler before eventually having to take Matthew Stafford with the first-overall pick in the April draft.