After a 2-1 start to the season, Detroit Lions fans have a lot to cheer about. The team has performed above expectations and took last year’s NFC Super Bowl representatives the Atlanta Falcons down to the wire over the weekend.
Unfortunately, the Lions have been bitten by the injury bug again. Specifically, on the offensive line. Both Travis Swanson and Joe Dahl have been sidelined. Thankfully, help is on the way from local athlete Tim Lelito. By all accounts, he’s happy to be in a Detroit Lions uniform.
Lelito said as much when he announced the signing on his Instagram account.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BZhZM-_lsh7/
Lelito was not drafted after a quality career at Grand Valley State University. He rebounded however and was picked up by the New Orleans Saints where he started 27 games over the course of four years.
The former GVSU Laker is expected to help fill a void in the interior offensive line. He can provide depth at several positions with his versatility.
Head coach Jim Caldwell has been shuffling offensive lineman around to different positions lately to try and cover for injured players. He told the Detroit Free Press that this is not done arbitrarily.
“We practice with these guys every day, we know how they think, we know what they do best, and then we make a decision based upon that and that’s what we thought was our best situation in terms of making certain that we could get done the things we want to get done from a protection stand point, from running the ball, etc.”
Lelito is from Rochester, Michigan originally and stands 6/4″ and 315 pounds. I’m sure that Matthew Stafford is happy to have such a motivated player helping out in pass protection. Welcome home, Tim!
